brown to white to brown to white

I awoke this morning to find that our mountains have been sprinkled with snow! The brown tips are now peaking with white - just like the Coors can. It's amazing to watch the weather change here and the snowcapped mountains are indicative of what's to come. As I sit writing this I glance to my new snowboard which is patiently waiting to be mounted with bindings and hit pow pow for the first time. Ah....

Fall appears in a flash

Yes, as Drake said, we've been working crazy hours! It's a rare time at my work as we're in a transition of moving our systems off of our former parent company and becoming independent. With that, coordinating a company-wide United Way campaign (for 2300 employees), and various other tasks, I'm staying pretty busy. Fortunately, I do love my job and am soaking up every bit of hard work as knowledge for my tiny brain.

With the free time we have Drake and I become weekend warriors. This weekend we did our first Oktoberfest. The brat line was longer than the beer line! And last week we attended our first Red Rocks show to see LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire. The infamous Red Rocks was so much grander than I expected and is a concert experience like no other.

Living the Corporate Life

What's yellow and white and spends 130 hours a week in a cubicle? Answer: Julia and me!

We've been swamped with work over the last couple of months, and it's been hard for us to find a spare moment to relax and forget about the rat race. While Julia does love her job, I have had some issues with mine, and the good news is that I found a new one!

Our friend Isaac, who used to work at my current company, introduced me to the managers at his new company, and I knew I had to work there. Just this week I received the offer letter, and I couldn't be happier. It's in the heart of downtown Denver, which is exactly where I want to be. It's amazing how many jobs are available in the Denver Tech Center, where I currently work (think of an enormous, sprawling office park, a la "Office Space"), and how few technical jobs seem to be available in our vibrant downtown. I feel lucky indeed.

Now that we work in the same area of town, even if we still are punching in 70 hour weeks, at least we can step outside and grab a drink together on the 16th Street Mall after a long day. When you are living the relentless corporate life, sometimes you have to be thankful for the little things!

Grape Expectations

We're finally in our new home! Drake and I made our big move to Grape Street a few Saturdays ago, hence why the blog has been ignored the last few weeks. The move went relatively smooth. The only hitch came when we mis-measured our new sectional couch for the basement and spent two days mulling over how/if to get it down. After removing a door, taking off couch legs, destroying the wall and practicing some tricky maneuvering, the couch squeezed down.
Half-full boxes are still scattered around the house and every weekend the dent gets bigger and spaces are filled with their proper knick knacks and furnishings. It's a great feeling to be home. It's strange, for more than six months now Drake and I have been living in such a transitional state. And it seems that every decision we've made since marrying has kind of lead up to this. We're finally able to anchor our lives and it feels good.
Everyone has been asking for photos of the new place. I snapped a few before the movers brought everything in, but I must admit the photos don't do it justice. You'll have to come visit and see for yourself!

btw - I'm not so creative to come up with the title of this entry on my own. Grape Expectations is the name of the neighborhood liquor store which we've come to enjoy for the great wine choices and fair prices.

Mile High Fourth of July

We hope everyone is having a great and relaxing Fourth of July week! We decided to forgo the usual beer and food-laden activities, which usually leave us sated and patriotic, but just as often bloated and lethargic. Instead we decided to go on a healthy, calorie-burning hike through the beautiful Colorado front range.

Julia got me some great gifts for my birthday, including The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (could he be our next president?) and a couple of excellent hiking guide books for Colorado. We dove into the hiking books and chose Button Rock Preserve, a 5.9 mile hike near Boulder that brought us to beautiful rolling meadows, a giant gushing dam, and the usual beautiful rocky mountain vistas. Our only complaint was that a large portion of the hike seemed to take place on rocky roads suitable for vehicular traffic, as opposed to true walking trails.

On the way home we happened to see a banner on Mile High Stadium advertising a July 4 Major League Lacrosse game and fireworks show. How could we resist? One of the reasons we moved to Denver was because we love to try new things, and we had sure never attended a professional lacrosse game, much less one at the palatial home of the Broncos.

We decided we had to give this a try, and we weren't disappointed. Lacrosse is a surprisingly fun game to watch. It's kind of like a soccer or hockey, but extremely high scoring (The Denver Outlaws beat the Chicago Machine 22-14, huzzah!). A fight even broke out at one point. Add fireworks to the mix, and what more can you ask for at a live sporting event?

As a final note, my last post was a rather crestfallen look at the state of Colorado Rockies baseball. Well since then, they have proven me wrong by winning like crazy, culminating in a series sweep of the Yankees, and now a sweep of the Mets, marking the first time in over half a century that an MLB team has swept both New York teams in one season. As Julia's aunt Mary from Maryland wrote us, "You think the Rockies are bad?! Check out the Orioles AND the Nationals." Touche.

I swear I used to hate sports. Something about the high altitude (lack of oxygen?) in this state must be turning us into crazy, outdoors-loving, extreme sports-hungry jocks. Colorado will mess you up!

Update: Here are our July 4 photos, newly posted by Julia.

what happens in deadwood, stays in deadwood

We finally went on our long-awaited trip to Deadwood, SD. After watching the HBO series religiously we took an awesome road trip with our two friends (who have also made Swearengen and Woo household names) to get a little taste of the West. The seven-hour drive, a big chunk in Wyoming, gave us a glimpse of the vast terrain and I was having a hard time imagining what it would have been like riding in a wagon pulled by oxen. In fact, I noted I was probably the one who would have died from dysentery.

Deadwood was quite the refuge. Saloons, shops and casinos lining Main St. left nothing to be desired. We happened to make our visit during the Wild Bill Hickok Days festival so streets were closed off and basically we participated in a block party for two days. Beer was cheap, feasts were cooked outdoors, and the music was almost as loud as the characters filling the streets. The West should only be experienced with such excitement!

Drake and I attended our first World Championship for the Cowboy Fast Draw as well as a team penning competition. We also visited the graves of Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock (infamous business-owner and sheriff of Deadwood). When history was exhausted, we played penny slots. Then, on the drive home we stopped by Mt. Rushmore. Because really, when's the next time we'll be over that way? Despite discouraging comments from others, Rushmore was actually worth the trip. But why the hell did they put this huge monument in the middle of nowhere? I mean, it's REALLY nowhere.

The trip was so worth it, but I have to admit I'm glad to be back in a place that serves tofu and water as choices as opposed to beer and buffalo as the main course.

snow in june, really?

The biggest news to report is that Drake and I are buying a house! Contracts have traded hands and we close July 9; by August we will be fully moved-in. It's an adorable little house in the historic district, Park Hill, near downtown. Park Hill is one of the most coveted 'hoods in Denver and we feel very lucky to have found such a great home. We can't wait to have everyone come visit!

Although buying a house has been very time-consuming, we still have managed to find time for us. Drake bought new Rollerblades this weekend and, in an attempt to try a new sport, I bought some cheapo used ones. A new summer sport is sure to come out of this! Drake thinks after an hour of practicing that I'm ready for major blading. His optimism is flattering.

Hiking is becoming a regular outing of ours and I'm always amazed at how different each trail is - and at how different each part of the trail is. Today we hiked up to the top of Chief Mountain. A recent storm in the mountains left most of the trail covered in deep snow so we had to trek through a bit of snow. At one point my entire left leg had sunk all the way down leaving my bare leg freezing! The snow also led us to deviate from the trail and do most of our hike straight up (as opposed to zig-zagging with the switchbacks). With a 1000 ft gain in elevation, and already about 10,600 ft up, it was quite the hike. But the view and wildlife at the top was well worth the strain.

Off to Deadwood, SD this weekend to partake in the Wild Bill Hickok Days Festival! Ironically it looks like Sister Hazel will be giving a free concert - who'd thought we see them there of all places? I'm just there to see the gunslingers.