CO milestone

Since Saturday, my life has had two major Events - one on Saturday itself and one on Monday. But to really appreciate the magnitude of these, I should explain something.

Some people get really excited about certain types of activities. For example: some people like coffee. They cannot imagine starting or getting through a day without it. Take a step above that: some people really like Auburn/Alabama football. And a step above that: many people are very dedicated to breathing.

And then, a step above that, is how I feel about reading.

With that in mind, here's my event for Saturday: I joined the public library here!!

Wow, when I actually write it out it seems somehow less awesome and life-changing than it was. Rest assured, it was an Event (with an "E") that will stand out in my memories of this summer. Because I brought 8-9 books with me from AL (yes, yes I did devote quite a bit of my suitcase weight limit to books), and I've been reading the books that I've found around my host family's house, but while all of those options are nice, they are not the same as having a library card and, therefore, access to the range of fabulous books I've been waiting to read until I graduated.

Although, to be fair to myself, a number of the books on that list were read regardless of my being in my final semester and having mountains of work to do (A Conspiracy of Kings comes to mind). But now, since I'm only working 40 hours a week and have a couple hours free in the evening, I'm re-devoting myself. It's wonderful, if not productive in the sense that I have not been doing much email/facebook/blog type stuff. And at some point I may stop putting off sleep to read, but I can't guarantee it.

The joy of Saturday was slightly dampened, though, by my quick realization that the library where I got my library card, which is the one closest to my host family's house, was in fact very cute, very small, and very not filled with the books I wanted to read.

Which brings us to Monday, and why that was an Event, possibly even with a capital Vent, not just a capital E. Because I talked to one of the other interns who's a local and he recommended a different library. I went there right after work. It's farther away, so I can't go all the time, but it was a beautiful, peaceful, totes fab experience. I found about 7 books, both fiction and non, that I've already started (including one called Bastard Languages, about Creoles and other slang languages, that I'm definitely looking forward to, and wow, I am SUCH a dork).

So now that I'm equipped with that most necessary of items, a library card, I would love book recommendations, for when I finish the ones I've got. :)

Starting a blog

I thought it would be such a great idea to start a blog. Inspired by friend LL, I decided it would be an awesome idea to have a blog where I could write about what I was doing, keep people updated on my summer and on next year (since I'd be traveling some) and generally have a chance to share my thoughts and feelings with the world.

So I set up this blog about 3 weeks ago, maybe 4, and promptly didn't write a single post.

The problem, I've found, is that I'm too cautious for the internet. I'm leery of putting my thoughts out there, where they can be read recklessly and by goodness only knows who, where a careless word could come back to haunt me. Additionally, having started my summer job, I find that I'm also little nervous about being indiscreet in my opinions. I'm getting paid and enjoying my job so far, and I'd like to continue doing so until August, thank you very much.

All of this has conspired to cause me to fail to write a blog post. But writing an entire post about not writing (though it seems a little post-modern, somehow) also seems a bit self-indulgent.

So I'm going to screw my courage to the sticking point and actually write something that contains information about me, my opinions, and my job. Take that.

Basically, I'm in Colorado. It still amazes me to see mountains when I walk outside - Alabama does not have snow-capped peaks. I started work at a Christian nonprofit last week, and am still figuring out exactly how it works and what I'll be doing. What's most interesting to me so far is that I seem to be among the more liberal of my fellow interns. This is a new experience for me. But I could be very wrong because the thing about being in a Christian nonprofit is that there are expectations (and whether there should be or not is not the subject of this post) about opinions and behavior and it's hard to tell if what I'm slowly picking up about the other's beliefs and ideas are accurate or if they reflect the surroundings.

And I think that's enough for now. More deep, thoughtful reflections about life, the universe and everything to follow.

Oh! And I have the first set of paperwork I need for my visa!! :D

I felt that I should share some pictures, also, in preparation for a later post that actually is about what I've been doing. This is snow. In the woods that we were walking in. LAST WEEK.

Just had to get that last part out.