#bfgtco

When I started blogging, 4 years ago, it wasn't even my idea. It was a collaborative blog with a friend who was using it as her senior project and I was just along for the ride. Well, after 9 months she jumped ship and I wanted to keep it going - but in terms of content I was lost. I was lucky enough to have a family member who blogged (Amy) so I followed her lead and was introduced into the world of bloggers like I'd never seen it. In order to find my voice, I looked to others for inspiration - and those people are now some of my closest friends.

For the previous two summers, my highlight have been spending a week with a group of unique individuals who all have a common interest; blogging. From Seattle, WA. to Austin, TX. we have explored new areas, eaten great food, and scoped out all of the crafty stores in walking distance. We've run through fountains, and adventured through schlitterbahn, napped in parks and been to comedy clubs. However, the best part of this is the fact that we really are so different - an artist from England, a future scientist from Pennsylvania, a speech pathologist from Oklahoma, and an architect from Washington. We've got sociologists, English majors, and a copyright editor.  But for some strange reason it just works. We've become so invested in each others lives that the best part of each time we see each other is just... the conversation. It can be silly or serious, and covers the broadest range of topics you could imagine.

Guys, this thing we have is one of a kind.

Which is why I was so lucky that somehow, for whatever reason Maggie, Shelby and I were able to come together for a mini-meetup of our own in my current location: Colorado. We brunched, shopped, explored and talked.

And that's all it needed to be, making that weekend the highlight of my summer.

slap yer mammy

I've come to realize that in my life the things I really try to do are unsuccessful, while things of a similar magnitude become my reality.

-I applied to approximately 50 firms for an internship this summer in Seattle and New York, and the one I end up was completely happenstance. Come to think of it I didn't get interviewed for it.
-I was planning summer trips, hoping I could make it to Shelby's wedding to see her and Maggie - but somehow my ending up in Colorado means that they are coming to visit me (so so soon!)
-I applied to intern at an architecture blog for the fall, which I didn't get. But then I got contacted for a freelance design gig.

Part of me is considering to stop applying myself and just let the chips fall where they may since that's what seems to be dictating my life anyways.

Along similar lines of things that just happen to me, one of my ex-girlfriends from years ago (don't worry, we're still friends) was arbitrarily in the area and neither of us knew that the other one was near. One  thing led to another and we ended up grabbing dinner and catching up because we hadn't talked since High School. We ate at Trinity Brewing, a local brewery that apparently gives out free bacon on Tuesdays with a purchase of a beer. Both of us got jalapeño burgers, and I tried a few beers - one of which was called "slap yer mammy" (it was too funny not to order it!)

Other than that I had a pretty terrible week at work, but I'm saving that for another post.

<< wearing: linen button-up by J.Crew > < pants by Levi's 514 > < boat shoes by Sperry > < sunglasses by J.Crew>> 

How To Save A Life

I had an extremely memorable weekend. Let me sum it up in 6 words:
Microbrewery, margarita, Estes, swift water rescue.
Now let me sum it up in a lot more than 6 words.

I left work Friday afternoon and headed up to Northern Colorado to spend the weekend with my roommate's (from school) parents. After my 3 hour drive through Denver traffic I was greeted with hugs and a homecooked meal, and then we headed off to a local microbrewery - High Hops. Located in a nursery, they sold plants and beer, and even grew their own hops. I had a double IPA which was perfectly hoppy and a sweet potato ale that actually tasted like sweet potatoes. Overall, a pretty cool place.

We got up the next morning and drove to Estes, which is tucked in the midst of mountain peaks. We did a nice 4 mile hike and after stopped for food and wandered around the tourist area, where I picked up a nice ten dollar long sleeve tee shirt and had a cone of Jack Daniel's chocolate chip ice cream. We headed home and cleaned up for dinner at the Rio, a local Mexican restaurant.

Apparently it was on their list of places to take me because it has "the best margaritas" (at this point I was convinced either they were alcoholics or that they thought I was an alcoholic) and let me tell you I was definitely not disappointed.

Sunday, the plan was to go tubing down the Poudre River and then hit up the Brewers Festival in Fort Collins but this did NOT go as planned.
You know that when your weekend activities make the news something either really cool happened or something dreadful.
Mine happened to be the latter.

Initially, we noticed the water was moving quickly but didn't think much of it. That was until we realized that the water was moving a lot faster than desired for an afternoon of tubing down a lazy river. Only about 5 minutes had passed until my friends dad and I realized we had lost his wife and 18 year old son somewhere along the way. We stopped and he turns to me, worried, and says " I think I hear my son screaming!"
It is at this point I find out that my friends dad can't swim, so he asks me to try and swim to them. I jump out of the tube,and try and swim upstream only to make no headway - so instead I go downstream, swim to shore and run up the river; sure enough my friends mom and her son are out of their tubes clinging onto branches for, well, their life.
I was able to get their son out quickly while we had a witness call for emergency backup. At this point his mom is literally trapped in between the rapidly moving water and a tree that had fallen into the water. The son traverses the fallen tree to to get to his mother and I follow behind him. As we reach her it was hard to tell if she was still conscious. He gets one of her arms and pulls her head out of the water. I get in to try and pull her further up but I only managed to get him her other arm before I'm swept into the current, underneath the tree, and spit out on the other side. Immediately I swim to shore where I have to climb up the cliff-like bank using the tree roots that were protruding out. As soon as I'm up, I see that the witness had helped  the son get his mother up on the tree, but we still don't know if she's injured or taken in water or anything. I realize that in the rush I had left the father (who can't swim) somewhere up river, but luckily as I head downriver he's running up - turns out he rode the river down until he came across a shallow part where he made his way out.
Then I hear sirens. I climb through a barb wire fence that leads me into an open horse pasture, where a horse started running at me, so I quickly found a way out and went through some more barbed wire fences and made it to the road. (For visualization sake I was in my 7" inseam shark fin swim trunks, barefoot, running around this entire time.) I lead the emergency vehicles in, and they ask me "are we following you?" and I wish I had said something sarcastic like "no I'm just running around in small swim trunks barefoot through barbed wire fences for fun" but obviously I said yes.
At this point we just needed them to do whatever it takes to get her out of the river area, and it took 5 people, a rescue boat, pulley system, like TEN different emergency vehicles and approximately an hour but they got her out.

So we ended up not going to the Brewing Festival....

How was your guys' weekend?

Sometime Around Midnight

Here's the thing about moving somewhere for 11 weeks; you're temporary. The people around you have been situated in their lives for years now, established friends, family, locations, plans. I want to get to know people, make friends, make plans, but it's difficult for me to get past the idea that I've been temporarily placed into the daily routine of someone else, and that when I'm gone in 6 weeks it will go back to how it was. I'm sure someone might reference summer camp, where after a week of frolicking with a stranger you've become the best of friends, but working full-time isn't the same - there aren't other interns in my same position. My coworkers and boss and their families are great, but I'm not going to beg them to hang out with me because they already have their own thing going for them. I'm not going to go out to bars every night to meet people (is that where you meet people?) because I'll soon be gone.

It's a good thing dogs don't care about that kind of stuff.

Iced Iced Coffe

(read to the beat of "Ice Ice Baby". Obviously.)

It's getting too hot for brewed coffee in the morning so I'm trying my hand at cold brew, and let me tell you it is not as easy as brewing in a coffee pot.

As usual, I searched the world wide web for instructions on how to cold brew coffee. I found a lot of interesting things -further peaking my interest in cold brew coffee- such as the fact that its a lot less acidic than your average morning brew. That means no more coffee stomach-aches! (I don't get them, but I do notice a bit of grumbling after a cup of joe.)

So if you're interested in making your own, and you don't want to splurge on a fancy device to do it, you'll only need a few things to do it.
Medium sized coffee grounds, some sort of a device that holds liquid, and something that strains.
That's it? Yeah basically.

A ratio that I found I like after a few tries of doing this was 1/3 cup grounds to every 1 1/2 cups water.
Put your desired amount of grounds and water in the liquid holding device and wait 12 hours.
This is super easy though... Hold your horses cowboy.

After your time is up comes the part that should be easier for anyone that isn't me. Whatever online directions you find, be wary about using a cheesecloth as a straining device. Personally, my attempts with it resulted in a morning in which I was almost late to work. Any sort of a fine strainer will do for the initial rounds; I recommend pouring your cold brew through at least twice in order to get rid of most of the grounds.
Dillon, it's just coffee you know you can buy it at the store... This is the age of DIY, so shut it.

Considering the fact that I moved to a different state with very minimal kitchen supplies and minimal funds, I devised my own (effective) way to complete the straining process; with coffee filters! I had some from my coffee pot and it's job is to keep grounds out... So I tried it and it works. I rigged up a ghetto filter-placed-in-strainer-on-top-of-pitcher and cup-by-cup I let my brew drip into the pitcher.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'll probably buy my own from now on.

#Retro

This week I realized what an amazing opportunity I stumbled upon with this job.

Up until now, when people have asked "How's Colorado?" I've responded with some version of, "It's different than anything else I've done!" And that's the truth. And different isn't always bad.

Thursday our boss invited us to see this 80's cover band play at a park in his community, and we all went and the other guys brought their families. The band wasn't half-bad for an 80's cover band called "Retro" but that's beside the point. What I want to get at is the fact that sometime that night, once the sun has set, the fire pit was dying, and the drinks were dwindling , the conversation turned to me, and my plans while I'm here. One thing led to another and my boss gestures to present company and informs me: "You've just become part of a family."

I took a job in a state I've never been to, not knowing anyone, a week before I actually started it. I drove 1500 miles by myself, not knowing where I would be sleeping the night I got there, and had to go to work the next day. I didn't know what to expect, honestly. All of a sudden it just became so real, like it was something someone else did, not me. Sure it's not backpacking through Europe, or exploring international landmarks, but it's an adventure nonetheless. Just like so many things in life can be.
Not knowing anyone is tough, and I was expecting -hell, planing- on doing everything alone. But it is sure nice knowing that I wont be.

Is this what growing up is like?

Coloradical

I wouldn't necessarily say that Colorado is radical, but I do enjoy the slogan "Coloradical" that I came upon this weekend.

It being my first weekend that I'm not living in a new place, I didn't have to scout out places to rent (my first weekend) or find the time to furnish my new place (my second weekend), so I ventured out into this new state. I knew that I wanted to go into Denver at some point, and I was conveniently asked to take my roommate/landlord to the Denver airport on Sunday so I figured, when in Rome! I spent Saturday afternoon trying to figure what I was going to do/see/get into the city and this nifty guide helped me out quite a bit. Saturday evening I felt like a real person because my coworker invited me to have dinner with his wife at their home, and it was a really fun time (even though I couldn't shake the feeling the initial invite was a little bit out of pity. He was asking me things like "so do you have family down here? friends? do you know anyone?" and then followed up with an invitation. But hey, I don't mind. I know practically no one. But I digress...)

SO. Sunday I made the trek up to the airport and then to a light rail station because I really didn't feel like driving into a city that I don't know. But in terms of cities it wasn't a heavily populated one; it's lack of large skyscrapers gave it an open feel that was similar to D.C. My plan was to start off having breakfast at Snooze, which was highly recommended. Apparently everyone else thought that was a good idea too because there was a 2 hour wait.
I didn't wait.
Instead I headed to the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, then to Tattered Covers (a bookstore) where I ended up getting a book called Why We Build. It's about humans and power and architecture and that kind of sounds right up the alley of a an architecture student getting a minor in sociology. I wandered up and down the 16th Street Mall (which was more street than mall) and met a friend for lunch.

Sidebar: I did not have good experiences with food service while I was in Denver. My first stop was ridiculously busy. At the bookstore cafe I ordered an "iced mocha" and received a "spiced chai", and at lunch at Wynkoop Brewery I ordered a "salmon club" and received a "BLT". When they brought me out the correct dish the salmon was severely under-cooked and my beer was warm. Needless to say I'm not recommending it to anyone. EVER.

However, it was nice to see someone that I knew before moving here. Afterwards I went to the Denver Art Museum. It was slightly disappointing in content but the building (designed by Libeskind) was perfection. I might have enjoyed the architecture more than the galleries.

There is still so much to do in Colorado and only so many weekends to do it in!