Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day to my friends and family far away! (And those close, too, of course.) Especially to my Katie and her brand new baby Mason - I'm so excited for you and Matt and can't wait to meet him!
As an early Valentine's Day excursion yesterday Travis and I picked up his friends Todd and Kelsey and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park to do some snowshoeing. Luckily, while I was killing time in a bookstore before an interview last week I came across a book of snowshoe trails in CO, so we may have to do this again! We headed out of Denver, stopped in Boulder to rent some snowshoes, and then continued on to the park. In the winter you don't have to pay to get in at this place - yes! There were a TON of cars in the little lot, but the trail didn't seem that crowded.
Aaaand 20 minutes later we made it! To the summertime trail head, that is. Conveniently outfitted with bathrooms and a warming station. Nice.
We were heading to Calypso Cascades and the trail follows a little river, which looks like this in the wintertime.
We made it to the cascades! Which were also frozen over. We had a cross-country skier take this picture for us - she felt she owed us since Todd saved her after she wiped out on the trail and couldn't manager to get herself back to the standing position. I probably couldn't have either - those skis are LONG!
Not bad for rentals...
Almost made it back! Now to change pants (not-so-discreetly on the side of the road) and head to the Stanley Hotel for the ghost tour. Boo!
At the Stanley. This is where Stephen King stayed and was inspired to write The Shining. Supposedly very haunted. Our tour guide, Scary Mary, is a favorite of the ghost children. Here we were supposed to watch her skirt as a ghost tugged on it and put our hands close to her to feel the energy. The only thing I felt was extremely light headed and a bit nauseous. Which could have something to do with the fact that we'd just snowshoed for 4 hours and all I had to eat was a burrito on the way up and a granola bar with some endurance cubes (lori!). Or maybe it was the ghost energy!?!
Look closely and see two floating dots. Specks of dust or orbs of energy? You decide. Dun dun dunnnn...
As an early Valentine's Day excursion yesterday Travis and I picked up his friends Todd and Kelsey and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park to do some snowshoeing. Luckily, while I was killing time in a bookstore before an interview last week I came across a book of snowshoe trails in CO, so we may have to do this again! We headed out of Denver, stopped in Boulder to rent some snowshoes, and then continued on to the park. In the winter you don't have to pay to get in at this place - yes! There were a TON of cars in the little lot, but the trail didn't seem that crowded.
Travis heading down the trail - it really was a perfect day for it
Aaaand 20 minutes later we made it! To the summertime trail head, that is. Conveniently outfitted with bathrooms and a warming station. Nice.
We were heading to Calypso Cascades and the trail follows a little river, which looks like this in the wintertime.
We made it to the cascades! Which were also frozen over. We had a cross-country skier take this picture for us - she felt she owed us since Todd saved her after she wiped out on the trail and couldn't manager to get herself back to the standing position. I probably couldn't have either - those skis are LONG!
Not bad for rentals...
Almost made it back! Now to change pants (not-so-discreetly on the side of the road) and head to the Stanley Hotel for the ghost tour. Boo!
At the Stanley. This is where Stephen King stayed and was inspired to write The Shining. Supposedly very haunted. Our tour guide, Scary Mary, is a favorite of the ghost children. Here we were supposed to watch her skirt as a ghost tugged on it and put our hands close to her to feel the energy. The only thing I felt was extremely light headed and a bit nauseous. Which could have something to do with the fact that we'd just snowshoed for 4 hours and all I had to eat was a burrito on the way up and a granola bar with some endurance cubes (lori!). Or maybe it was the ghost energy!?!
Look closely and see two floating dots. Specks of dust or orbs of energy? You decide. Dun dun dunnnn...
We aimed to all have dinner together after, but it got pretty late. So Travis and I attacked the home-made french dip sandwiches ourselves. I love my crock pot (thanks, Mom!) and the french dip recipe was fantastic (thanks, Dianna!) Topped off with some Grandma S-style lemon cake and it was a pretty good day/night! Even if my legs are sore today :)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The (continuing) job hunt
And the hunt continues... I've been thoroughly searching for about a month since I got back to Denver, and here are the numbers:
26 applications filled out
10 (give or take) cups of coffee while "networking"
3 phone interviews
3 in-person interviews
2 offers to assist as a volunteer (which I accepted)
1 job offer (which I turned down)
At the rate I'm going, I won't have time for a full-time job! My days are already taken up with networking and volunteer projects, sorry :)
Anyone know how I get this job??
Oh, that doesn't happen in the non-profit field? Dang.Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The New Place
YAY! We may not have a kitchen table, but Grandma's hair-dryer chair fills the space nicely. 
Yup, that's a window. In my bedroom.
View from the deck on a snowy day... someday it will be nice enough to take a yog in the park (hopefully!)
Yup, that's a window. In my bedroom.
View from the deck on a snowy day... someday it will be nice enough to take a yog in the park (hopefully!)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Settling in
Welp, we are officially unpacked! It is taking some time to figure out the best ways to and from work, etc., but it is starting to feel like home. It has been snowy pretty much every day since we moved in, so we haven't explored much on foot yet. In snowed quite a few inches yesterday, and it is so nice when it just sits prettily on everything!
I've been making the rounds of local coffee shops using their wifi and job-searching... our Internet gets set up in our apartment tomorrow so then I won't feel obligated to drink more and more coffee as I surf. The job search is going alright... I've had a few interviews, one which resulted in a job offer that I turned down, and another that resulted in a volunteer opportunity for this event called Climb For Sudan. (http://www.climbforsudan.org/about.html) I'm really excited to be involved, but if I end up volunteering for every job I interview for I'm going to have even less free time and less moolah. Hmmm, may have to change my approach :)
Hopefully I'll have more interesting news soon, or at least some pictures. Much love from the Rockies!
I've been making the rounds of local coffee shops using their wifi and job-searching... our Internet gets set up in our apartment tomorrow so then I won't feel obligated to drink more and more coffee as I surf. The job search is going alright... I've had a few interviews, one which resulted in a job offer that I turned down, and another that resulted in a volunteer opportunity for this event called Climb For Sudan. (http://www.climbforsudan.org/about.html) I'm really excited to be involved, but if I end up volunteering for every job I interview for I'm going to have even less free time and less moolah. Hmmm, may have to change my approach :)
Hopefully I'll have more interesting news soon, or at least some pictures. Much love from the Rockies!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
THE story
We have officially moved! And yes, we picked a day that was cold, icy, and snowy. And yes, that dang pull-out couch went up another 3 flights of stairs. And yes, my arms are so sore that I have to use both hands to turn the steering wheel of my car. But it was all worth it.
So here's the story - I'll try to keep it abbreviated...
Last August when I moved to Denver I moved into a house I found on Craigslist... One girl was already there (Roommate X) and Kate and I moved in about the same time. We paid all our rent and bills to Roommate X and she paid the rental company. Through some investigative work we recently found out that the rent for the entire house was $1000/mo... I'm paying $500 and Kate is paying $400. Which leaves Roommate X to pay $100/mo for the last 18 months. And having never seen our actual utility bills we have no way of knowing if those were split evenly in three, or if they were just split in half.
To find out the rent was SO horribly uneven was very upsetting, especially given all of the issues with the bathroom, the mold, and the sewage in the basement. And I've been paying 5X the rent of Roommate X? I don't think so ma'am. Did Roommate X do anything illegal? No, Kate and I both signed a lease with her for one year for the agreed amounts. But does that mean that it is right? I think not. Especially when I was told before I moved in that I paid more for the larger room, but everything else was even. Of course, I was upset with myself for not looking into things further before I signed the initial lease. But I can't do anything to change that, now.
So we were left with a decision. Confront her, try to get out, or just ride out our lease. A quick call to the rental agency confirmed that Roommate X was the only name on the lease, and Kate and I were just listed as tenants. So we were under no contractual obligation. Done. We're getting out. So we approached Roommate X about the ordeal and she repeated that it was a "business decision" to charge us more, and everyone saves money wherever they can. Um, true, but not everyone takes advantage of others in this blatant way. Especially others living on student loans in a dungeon to make ends meet.
(Sorry - this isn't turning out to be very abbreviated... but it gets me worked up!) Anyway, we decided to get out. It was a blessing that I didn't have a job at the time and was able to look at places, but the tricky thing is that without a job I don't feel comfortable signing a 12 month lease. So we had to find something that would give us a 3-month lease (just in case), that was nice and in our price range. A bit tricky, but we did it!
This all leads to our move on Monday. We turned our keys at the old place. I felt kind-of bad for leaving Roommate X on such short notice, but that was quickly squelched when I saw the listing back on Craigslist for $25 MORE than Kate and I paid per room. Yup, business decision, indeed.
I hope this is done, but we'll see. There are some loose ends still waiting to be tied up - mainly Roommate X's request/demand that Kate and I pay February rent too (for not giving 30 days notice), and Kate and I's refusal to do so. We've kissed our security deposit goodbye, of course. If I end up on Judge Judy you can say you read it here first :)
BUT good things came out of it, at the time. I was close to campus while I was in school and could walk to and from, which was awesome. I met Travis out for Roommate X's birthday last year, and I met Kate, whom I love and am looking forward to living with. In a bright, sunny, mold- and sewage-free apartment :)
Now if you'd like to come visit, we actually have a presentable place for you to stay. (Phil, Finke, Peanut, and B, sorry you had to deal with the dungeon. You'll just have to come back again!)
Now for further job-searching so I don't have to move that couch again in three months. THAT is true motivation, my friends.
So here's the story - I'll try to keep it abbreviated...
Last August when I moved to Denver I moved into a house I found on Craigslist... One girl was already there (Roommate X) and Kate and I moved in about the same time. We paid all our rent and bills to Roommate X and she paid the rental company. Through some investigative work we recently found out that the rent for the entire house was $1000/mo... I'm paying $500 and Kate is paying $400. Which leaves Roommate X to pay $100/mo for the last 18 months. And having never seen our actual utility bills we have no way of knowing if those were split evenly in three, or if they were just split in half.
To find out the rent was SO horribly uneven was very upsetting, especially given all of the issues with the bathroom, the mold, and the sewage in the basement. And I've been paying 5X the rent of Roommate X? I don't think so ma'am. Did Roommate X do anything illegal? No, Kate and I both signed a lease with her for one year for the agreed amounts. But does that mean that it is right? I think not. Especially when I was told before I moved in that I paid more for the larger room, but everything else was even. Of course, I was upset with myself for not looking into things further before I signed the initial lease. But I can't do anything to change that, now.
So we were left with a decision. Confront her, try to get out, or just ride out our lease. A quick call to the rental agency confirmed that Roommate X was the only name on the lease, and Kate and I were just listed as tenants. So we were under no contractual obligation. Done. We're getting out. So we approached Roommate X about the ordeal and she repeated that it was a "business decision" to charge us more, and everyone saves money wherever they can. Um, true, but not everyone takes advantage of others in this blatant way. Especially others living on student loans in a dungeon to make ends meet.
(Sorry - this isn't turning out to be very abbreviated... but it gets me worked up!) Anyway, we decided to get out. It was a blessing that I didn't have a job at the time and was able to look at places, but the tricky thing is that without a job I don't feel comfortable signing a 12 month lease. So we had to find something that would give us a 3-month lease (just in case), that was nice and in our price range. A bit tricky, but we did it!
This all leads to our move on Monday. We turned our keys at the old place. I felt kind-of bad for leaving Roommate X on such short notice, but that was quickly squelched when I saw the listing back on Craigslist for $25 MORE than Kate and I paid per room. Yup, business decision, indeed.
I hope this is done, but we'll see. There are some loose ends still waiting to be tied up - mainly Roommate X's request/demand that Kate and I pay February rent too (for not giving 30 days notice), and Kate and I's refusal to do so. We've kissed our security deposit goodbye, of course. If I end up on Judge Judy you can say you read it here first :)
BUT good things came out of it, at the time. I was close to campus while I was in school and could walk to and from, which was awesome. I met Travis out for Roommate X's birthday last year, and I met Kate, whom I love and am looking forward to living with. In a bright, sunny, mold- and sewage-free apartment :)
Now if you'd like to come visit, we actually have a presentable place for you to stay. (Phil, Finke, Peanut, and B, sorry you had to deal with the dungeon. You'll just have to come back again!)
Now for further job-searching so I don't have to move that couch again in three months. THAT is true motivation, my friends.
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