oh, man, lacey is kicking my butt at being a dedicated and informative blogger. i sent around an e-mail a while ago that contained some pictures of my trip to colorado. the truth is, although i am physically going through the motions of being back in pennsylvania, my heart is still on the trip that allowed me to be calm and carefree - plus dried my hair with no humidity. and the basic jist of the e-mail is that we went to a lot of places, all of them beautiful. this included:
i) driving up Mt. Evans, which allows us to boast both having driven up the highest paved road in the world, looking down upon the continental divide from several miles up (between four and five i believe), seeing mountain goats and marmots from closer than i've been to some of the people that i know best, and also being the only people on the mountain summit in sleeveless tops, shorts, and flip flops as everyone else had dressed for what was obviously going to be colder weather. we enjoyed it, nonetheless, and the paradox of snow on the ground while wearing summer clothes was nothing if not entertaining.
ii. an awesome, awesome, awesome concert at red rocks (google that if you haven't seen pictures, it is GORGEOUS) where we basked in the glory not only of each other, but of the black keys, my morning jacket, and one of the happiest, least grumpy concert crowds that i've ever encountered. our grumbles from climbing the 9000 steps to get there were quickly put to rest and the evening was topped off with the moon hanging dead center over the stage. it couldn't have been more perfect or more beautiful. or maybe it could've, but i have no idea how.
iii. a post mini-golf rooftop dinner and colorado rockies game. both excellent and (once again) beautifully tucked into the colorado scenery. i did not win miniature golf, i must admit, but it hardly put a damper on the day. neither the rockies nor the reds played well, but that didn't spoil anything either. we sat near a rather spirited bunch of elementary-aged students who took great delight in starting the wave and leading whoever they could coax into several rounds of cheers meant to stir some sort of rally. it didn't work, but they thanked everyone for their efforts before the night was over.
and now classes have begun again. it was a busy week trying to get used to having classes amid everything else that needs to be done during the semester. yesterday saw a new season of ncaa football, and what a hot beginning it was. rachel and lacey and i are some of the few that have season tickets this year and we beared the heat for as long as we could, though there is only so involved you can be in a game where your team is leading by 50 points. i played softball, if you'll remember and for many years there was a 10-run mercy rule. due to the extreme-heat-induced sweatiness, no pictures from the game will be posted, but you can trust me that i was there.
the other event this week was a get-together to watch obama's acceptance speech at the democratic national convention. it's weird to think that we're a part of history, but we did what we could as proud democrats to mark the occasion. that's me tucked into the chair with jeremy on the left (if you're not used to my bangs yet, you probably won't recognize me). i'm not sure why lacey looks so alarmed on the floor next to me. i'm uncertain why there are about half a dozen people missing from this shot, but i've a suspicion that it has something to do with the deep-dish pizza that was being served. yum!
and now i'm once again resolving to be in better contact with those who are still at home as i do whatever it is i do here in the valley. today that involved an afternoon of bbq, sun, and swimming at jeremy's pool. tomorrow it will involve a mad scramble of hard work trying to compensate for the lack of things that got done, today. still, though, i get to introduce myself as a 4th year student and talk about a few more things that i got accomplished in the past 12 months. that's got to count as progress, right?
