A Series of Interesting Guesses

Currently reading... 'Neither Here Nor There' by Bill Bryson

A great quote about travel from the book:

"I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses" -Bill Bryson

(what a cool perspective on travel! I think I wrote a blog a while back saying similar things about how I kind of love just wandering around a new city not really knowing where I am or where I'm going but just enjoying getting "lost". Sometimes you come across some very cool things and experiences that way!)

World Spins Madly On

While wandering around Facebook tonight I came across the page of an old friend who died a few years ago. On his Facebook wall friends and family still write messages, wish him happy birthday every year, and say hi and how they miss him. His photos are still there that he posted, his information, his friends, everything. It's as though he's still alive. Don't misunderstand my post here though, it's not meant to depress you. Really I just found this fascinating that people still post things on his wall as though he were sitting at a computer somewhere reading it (an entirely different discussion about afterlife would bring up that maybe he is, but that's aside from my point). I think, of all the ridiculous and concerning things that come about from technology, specifically Facebook, there is something sort of nice about there being a place for people who have lost a loved one to go, stop by for a minute and "visit" this person who is no longer around. Just say hi, type out a memory or well wishes or whatnot. Facebook even reminds you when it's the person's birthday. Now before Facebook, probably the family and close friends of a person who has died would remember their birthday and think of them on that day, but now, you get a reminder and you can take a second out of your day to think of the person and wish them a happy birthday. I think this is a cool "new age" way of grieving as well as the healing process and, ultimately, of remembering those who are no longer with us. For the foreseeable future, the internet is going to be around for a while, and it's nice to see an old friend pop up on your Facebook page every now and then even after they're gone. I don't mean this in a "denying they're actually gone" sort of way, it's just an interesting development that has come along with the advancement, at unbelievable speeds, of the internet.

Where Do You Go To My Lovely?

Fall leaves along Trail Ridge Road

Aaaagghh where the heck have I been?! The answer is I've been in Boulder, searching endlessly for jobs. I've been back here for over a month and still no job. Sigh. I've applied to many, and even had a few interviews but as it turns out everyone else is also looking for jobs so there's a lot of competition, even for silly non-real jobs like retail. But hey I'm trying not to be too picky at this point and hopefully something will come along soon! Unfortunately I'm an impatient person, so it's hard to wait and hope and not know when a job will come my way. I hope it's soon! Sometimes I get a little bored but I'm trying to keep myself occupied. So what have I been doing during this time of tasteful unemployment? Well, reading, watching the show House (I'm completely addicted), baking, organizing my family photos, working for my Grandma, riding my bike, going to the gym, hanging out with friends (mostly free activities since I'm low on funds at the moment), and soon I will be doing some house-sitting for my...let's see I guess they're my step-aunt and uncle, and of course, applying to every job I can even vaguely conceive working at.

In my new task of organizing family photos I've come across some real winners including this, taken when I was about 8 years old and had more hair than anyone in the history of the world:

I have a feeling that you know your hair is too big when it doesn't even fit in the photo! Hah.

Anyways...sadly it seems the more free time I have, the less there is to blog about. But I'll try anyways because I should really be pretending like every day here in Boulder is a new adventure, not a mundane passing of 24 hours not even worth mentioning. So I'm not in a new state every day and I'm not getting stranded in the middle of Canada but sometimes adventures can creep up on you disguised as something boring...hopefully? :-)

A couple weeks ago I took a drive up to Gold Hill with some friends for a benefit concert event thing to help out the people who have lost their homes and have been affected by the Four Mile Canyon fires. What a sad and impressive sight to see entire mountain sides blackened by the fires and creepy ominous black skeleton trees along the way. It was sad to see how many houses along Sunshine Canyon are no longer there. My heart goes out to the people who have to start over with their home, their belongings, and their lives. Despite the gloomy setting, the concert was fun and we took a little tour of Gold Hill, including a stop at the playground to do some extreme swinging!

So here I am, trying to keep myself entertained and also hoping that the weather will finally cool down and start feeling like fall. I think summer missed the memo that it's time is up. Some of the leaves are finally starting to turn though (see top picture!) I also want to start planning out what happens after this period of (eventually) working and living in Boulder. I hope to spend some time in Europe within a year so I'll start doing some planning, saving money, and maybe learning some new languages?

Hope everyone is doing well! If you know of any jobs in Boulder please let me know!

*peace*