I'd Never Have Guessed

If you would have told me a month ago that I would be hiking the sandstone out in Canyonlands National Park right now, I would have probably laughed out loud. I mean, I just get back from a major trip to the PNW, and now I'm back in Utah?? What gives? Well that's just what I did yesterday - Nate and I are spending two days out at Canyonlands, exploring the only park in the state that I have never experienced, and then we're on our way up to Ogden so I can start my new job on Monday! I'm a bit nervous, a bit psyched, and a bit wondering what the heck I was thinking. I'm going to miss Nate a lot, but the adventure and experience should be something to remember. I have a lot of concerns...trapping over 12000 feet when I am so sensitive to altitude change, living in the same room with who knows who in a supposedly "buggy" cabin, working with only one other person who, if he's a jerk, will make the process rather annoying (so let's hope he's not!!). Other than that, no worries! I've done this before and will be fine.

Well, we're off to the park again. I'll be in touch!!

Exhileration

So much has happened in the last few days, I don't even know where to begin! I guess we can start with today and work backwards...I spent the day catching prairie dogs with Prairie Dog Pals, the local relocation service. After having turned down the opportunity to do this as a part time job, I still wanted to help out. What a day we had!! It was so cool because we trapped by foaming the critters out of their burrows and catching them by hand - a huge difference from the tomahawk trapping we did in Utah. Talk about a rush when you catch one! We caught about 15 throughout the day, including two at a church that were going to be poisoned if we hadn't caught them. What ever happened to religious people respecting all of God's creatures? What a bunch of hypocrites. It seems like churches around here are notorious for that sort of thing, and it's really disturbing. At least we rescued those two - supposedly that's all that reside there. The entire day, I couldn't help but wonder what the heck I'm doing in real estate...this is what I love doing! Sure I sat on some cactus spines and nearly burned my behind on the hot sand and used muscles I didn't remember I had, but it was so wonderful! Knowing you're helping a good cause and being out in nature is fantastic...it's what I'm meant to be doing! I'm so glad I participated, and I hope I can do it again before I leave. Oh, and for pay, Paul let me take home a prairie dog skull they'd found. A nice addition to my skull collection.

So once I had my plans for Utah mostly hashed out and I've set my mind to it, I had mall duty last Thursday, thinking "What am I doing here?" Well, nothing happened until the last 10 minutes...a guy came up to me with some questions - he needed to buy a house in a week or two! We hit it off so well, and he was incredibly impressed by my prompt subsequent emailing that he wanted ME for his realtor! NOW! When I'm leaving in a week! Why is it that things happen that way - nothing happens until you decide to do something else?? So I have to figure out what to do about that. He's the ideal first client, too - a new home buyer, so easy to get along with, and so confident in me! I almost wish I'd taken the prairie dog job so I could do this thing. Maybe I can at least muster a referral...

Hmm, what else. Well, when I last saw Jeanine, she brought down my Atari, NES, and N64, and I just started really playing come the last shipment from my mom which included some great games! Nate and I have been doing the whole Mega Man series, and I completed Clash at Demonhead last week. Today, I was so close to finishing Milon's Secret Castle when I somehow managed to revert back to stage one with no saved memory...talk about frustrating!! It's an awesome game, though - I was reading some reviews, and it appears that gamers today are such wusses - most people complain that it's "too hard." That's what I love about the old games - they were so challenging and often quite unique...it seems like games today are just clones of one another and really dull and almost easier than the old standbys. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but nothing beats the trailblazers. As soon as I get over the shock of losing my status, I'm going to finish that darned game once and for all...and then it'll be on to the next one! Yay NES!

So yeah, I still haven't written my PNW report...too busy with the games. I think I need to go to UT to get away from it! I can't believe how soon THAT'S coming up!!

Ahh, to Be Wanted...

So I've been having many conflicting feelings about this whole real estate gig, mostly because I don't really like the realtor/home investor relationship. I've found myself almost embarrassed to admit what it is I do, whereas I am always proud to tout myself as a biologist. So, on a whim, I decided to apply to a number of jobs, just to see what would happen...and right now, I'm being courted by THREE places!! One of which I didn't even apply to! My pal Paul is working with Prairie Dog Pals - the local P.D. relocation service, and I was going to work with him part time...until...two of the other jobs wanted me. One is a ranger position down at Elephant Butte Lake, waaaay south of here. That's probably the one I wanted least out of the five that I applied for (one of which already had someone hired, and the other two I have yet to hear back from). The other job was just too cool to pass up. It's a summer research position up in Ogden, UT, through the UT Division of Wildlife, for whom I've previously worked. They were amazed that, with my credentials, I would want such a position and practically hired me on the spot (I had to explain that there are NO suitable bio jobs in NM). Soooo, I'll be studying flying squirrels and picas, as well as some woodpecker and wolf work...and Kevin (my boss to be) is in charge of all of UT's sensitive species and said if any of them interest me, we can focus on that too!! AND we'll be riding horses!! Super cool!!! Plus, it'll give me a chance to explore NORTHERN UT this time, and the surrounding states...maybe even go to Yellowstone at last!

I was worried about breaking it to my real estaters, but they're fine with it (I'll be back again in September, and in the meantime have my license semi-active in Blue Cow, which means I can still do referrals)...now to break it to Paul...

Beyond that, I just got back from my vacation in the Pacific NW! I haven't even STARTED writing about that yet...but it'll be here soon enough!! Sit tight!

Adventures in Colorado

I really haven't felt much like writing lately, and I'm still rather in my slump, but I thought I should at least talk about the latest of my crazy adventures. Over Memorial Day weekend, I met up with my college buddy Jeanine for a girls weekend out, and we had a whirlwind time in the great state of Colorado.

We met up on Friday afternoon, in CO Springs. Our first order of business was to see the new Indy movie. I grew up with Indiana Jones, and those are some of my favorite movies of all time. I always aspired to a life of adventure like that, so how could I not see the latest in the series?? Well, it was certainly entertaining, although I took issue with the poor CGI and cutesy animation (George Lucas at work, I s'pose...maybe the next Indy'll have a Jar Jar character or something...). Plus, don't even get me going on the waterfall scene. But I digress...I enjoyed the story line, particularly because it covered a lot of the things I've been interested in for a LOOOOONG time. I'll leave it at that so as not to spoil it for anyone.

After the movie, we headed over to the M Lazy C dude ranch to secure our cabin, and then we were off to dinner. I REALLY wanted to go to the tiki bar, but Jeanine (rightfully so) didn't want to have to drive all the way back to CO Springs (we were staying 35 miles west). Well, upon finding no other sources of food, we wound up at the tiki bar - The Castaways. And BOY were we lucky!!! The atmosphere was wonderful, the staff was great, the drinks were delish, and the food was A-1! I guess the chef is German, so that was his specialty...nothing like having weiner schnitzel at a tiki bar!! I must say, his mashed potatoes were out of this world!! Oh, and Jeanine was so impressed she suggested we make a habit of meeting here every Memorial Day weekend!

So that night we got settled into our cabin, which was freezing. I actually slept quite well, surprisingly, and was excited to get to sleep in without one of my kitties trying to wake me up...well, come 6am, what do I hear?? "MEOW!! MEOW!!" right outside our door! This adorable, long-haired grey and white cat was trying to get in to wake us up!! It followed me down to the bathhouse and watched me get ready for my day. Too cyoot!!

Once we were ready, we headed down to breakfast at the dining hall. It was a 10 minute walk in the most gorgeous country! They've filmed movies (and Cowboy U) out here, and I can see why. We had our brekkie amongst other dudes, and after a lot of trouble, we were able to get an hour long trail ride put together. We headed out with Katie, and this would be her first trip as a guide! She did such a splendid job, and I have to say, I would love to have had a summer job like hers when I was younger (I guess I could still do that, seeing as how I don't really have a career or anything these days...lol). We rode through some amazing forest, occassionally glimpsing Pike's Peak in the distance. It felt so good to be back in the saddle, too - it's really where I am meant to be! I would often make my horse Chester stay behind so I could trot up to the other two. When Katie asked if we wanted to go faster, SOMEONE declined, which is too bad. ;) At least I was able to trot a little bit, though!

After that, we went for a hike to kill time before our gun slinging lesson (the main reason for our trip out here...we wanna learn how to shoot!). Unfortunately, the place was having a huge event that was taking up time in the shooting range, and we weren't even sure we'd GET to shoot that day. So Jeanine and I wound up taking three hours to explore the national forest. It would have been wonderful had it not been for all the inconsiderate four wheelers. At one point, we decided to "off road" it, but that just got us turned around...thank goodness we had a map, but it was still confusing! Then, I somehow managed to lose my camera and had to backtrack up a steep hill, only to discover it was at the bottom of the hill. Oh well, good exercise!

Once we got back, we still heard the gunmen shooting, but we were able to arrange it so we could shoot in the next half hour. So we headed out to the range and met up with the ranch owner's son and some other dude who gave us the low down on gun care and usage. Unfortunately, none of the guns were clean, so they had to go back and get a cleaning kit and do that, which took a while. FINALLY we were able to shoot - Jeanine started with the pistol and did alright, and I did pretty good, too - I really liked the pistol. Next up was the rifle - Jeanine got ALL her targets on the thing, wheras I could barely hold the thing up - it was way too big for me!! My arms were shaking, and I just fumbled all over the place. PLUS, I'm so dumb, I was using my left (but GOOD) eye to focus, despite being right handed. DUH!!! No wonder I couldn't hit anything!! Well, I guess now that I know what I'm doing, I may be better next time...especially if I have a smaller rifle. It was fun and empowering and I can't wait to try it again!!

From there, we had to motor in order to make it down to Trinidad by a decent hour. Jeanine's friend Deb was expecting us at 6, but there was no way we were going to make it. The drive down there would take 3 hours, and it was already well after 3. The drive down was a challenge, too, as the wind wanted to knock my car off the road, and Jeanine's car was struggling with the hills. I also got sunscreen in my eyes, but luckily Jeanine called to see if I wanted to stop for dinner just as I was about to ask her if we could pull over so I could cry! Haha! We wound up at Pizza Hut with the SLOWEST service ever, but it was good to have some food, as we didn't do lunch. Then we headed on down to Trinidad!

We got to Deb and Peter's house around 7:30 and spent the rest of the night talking to them. Deb used to be a paleontologist, but she's worked EVERYWHERE and is so interesting. She's currently running an art museum in Trinidad, which is supposedly haunted. Peter is a geologist and is also quite interesting. We had tons to talk about all night long!

That night, Jeanine and I shared the small guest room. I decided to sleep on the floor the first night, and we'd switch the second, but I swear they had such a comfy floor that I didn't want to give it up! I can't explain why, but it felt like the most cushy bed. Go figure!

Sunday, not knowing what to do, we let them decide for us. We wound up having the geology tour of southern CO, and it was so fascinating! Our first stop took us to the K-T Boundary site, one of only a few places where you can see the band of iridium in the rock that shows where the dinosaurs were killed off (K-T standing for Cretacious-Tertiary...the letter C was used for something else). We climbed up to it and touched its shininess. Then we headed out to see the site of a house that exploded due to methane emmissions, followed by some incredible overlooks up in the mountains. We ate lunch in a cute little mountain town, and then headed back down, doing a circle tour. We witnessed the Spanish Peaks - two mountains created by underground magma, and being entirely flanked by dikes - hardened rock that was pushed into being by that magma, too. Finally, we stopped at the Ludlow Massacre site where women, children, and striking miners were killed by the mining company. For being such a morose place, it sure was decorated with cheery red, white, and blue - it felt like an amusement park! Yikes! Strange place, that...

From there, we headed back to Trinidad where Deb took us down to the art museum. It was a really fascinating place, housed in an old department store that aged well over 100. We saw every nook and cranny of the place, including the basement catacombs and storage facilities. I can see not wanting to be there alone at night, but with others around, I really wanted to see one of the rumored ghosts! No such luck, but it was a really neat place to explore.

From there, we had to decide on dinner. We wound up going to Rino's, this fancy restaurant in which the owner and hostess (and most of the staff) serenade you with music from MY era (read, the 1950s). It was a hoot!! I'm definitely taking Nate back there sometime!

After all this, it was getting pretty late, so we went back to their house and sat around talking some more before bed. On Monday, we got up early and motored out to NM to see Capulin Volcano National Monument - one of the few I hadn't seen yet in the state. It was way out there, and we saw a bunch of antelope on the way, which is a rare treat. While there, we did the rim tour, driving way up to the top of the volcano - it felt like being in an airplane, we were so high up! The hike was nice, though we were bombarded by hemipterans (tiny true bugs). Then we did a trail down below, viewing the charred remains of some desert scrub that had succumbed to fire. Finally, we headed back to Raton, NM where we had a nice lunch (I had a great frito pie!) before I bade the three of them farewell and headed on my way back down to Albuquerque. It was an exciting weekend, full of adventure, and I'm so glad I made it!! Next up: The Pacific Northwest!!!

One Whole Year!

It's so hard to believe it, but Nate and I celebrated our one-year anniversary yesterday! I really don't know where the time went, but it must be true that time flies when you're having fun. I don't know how I managed to find the most wonderful guy in the world, but I did (sorry ladies). We are just so darned compatible with similar senses of humor, many of the same likes and dislikes, and such well-suited personalities. I truly like the person I am when I'm with him, and he is one of the few people who has seen the real me. I'm so grateful to know him!

We celebrated this weekend by camping out on Saturday night. We stayed up in the Jemez Mountains, near Fenton Lake and the Valles Caldera. Unfortunately, we got a late start due to open houses, but we made it to our campsite around 6pm. We found a remote spot, which was tough because the grounds were nearly full, and set up our tent and gear. Then we went to Amanda's Convenience Store (my old hangout when I was on the hanta crew) and got Mississippi Mud ice cream bars. MMMMM!!!! We snacked on s'mores and junk food around our fire, and indulged in a bottle of wine. It was really a nice night. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well because my sleeping bag, which is supposedly good up to negative 30 degrees, was sapping all my heat and I froze all night! I must have gotten about a half hour of sleep total. It wasn't fun, but that's camping for ya - you never know! In cool news, I could hear elk bellowing in the distance!

On Sunday, we spent the day with Nate's mom up in Los Alamos, which was nice, though I was out of sorts from having a bad night. We got some sandwiches and did a picnic out at Fuller Lodge, the site of our wedding! It was windy and the leaves hadn't leafed out much yet - we really lucked out last year! The weather had been perfect, the trees were leafy, and in some cases, bloomy, and everything worked out. Everyone had a perfect day. I guess there were no weddings there this weekend, but it seems like the weather wasn't conducive for it anyway.

For our anniversary, Nate and I went out for lunch at Two Fools Tavern, near UNM. I had one of their dreamy cottage pies (shepard's pie). Sooooo delish!! Nate tried the scotch eggs, but they were "meh." It seems like, in most instances, British food is as bad for you as you can get, but it never tastes good! If it's going to be bad for you, at least make it flavorful! Haha!

That evening, I somehow managed to fit into the white dress I wore for the rehearsal dinner - it was originally going to be my wedding dress, were the ceremony to be even less formal. It reminds me of something a wood elf would wear if it were in shades of green and brown. Anyway, I got all decked out, and Nate and I went to Seasons in Old Town for dinner. It was one of those typical "trendy" places that experiments and overcharges for not-so-great food, but oh well. It was an experience. We even ordred a whole bottle of wine! Then we walked around the plaza at Old Town before heading over to Hinkle to play a round of mini golf and some arcade games. We tied at golf and won about 260 tickets. Then we came home and watched our wedding ceremony dvd. It was a fun night!

So that's life 'til now. Hope all is well with y'all!!

Just When I Thought...

Just when I thought I had finally made (sort of) a decision about my real estate career, something has to come up to make me second-guess that decision. I hadn't planned on going in to the office today, really, instead focusing my time on my writing, but for some reason I was compelled to go in and get a few things taken care of (faxing my publication to my mom, getting materials for my open house this weekend, etc.) I wound up running into Susan and talking with her for well over an hour. We had gone so far as to even discuss starting up our own businesses when we finally decide real estate was a bummer of a career. I really hope that things start looking up for her - she is such a good person and a hard worker and so dedicated, yet she deals with even more flakes than I do! Plus, she's got more expenses than me, lives alone, and has all manner of medical issues. Every time I start feeling sorry for myself, I think about how much more she has to face, and how she almost always has a "never say die" attitude (today notwithstanding).

So just as I was about to leave, I ran into Rosie, my qualifying broker (QB). To my concern, she asked me to come into her office and sit down. Eep, thinks me, because they've told us that the only time they'll have us really meet with them is if they wonder what's happened to us and are concerned about our progress. WELL, turns out that my future QB Connie actually asked her if I could transfer to her office now, before I even have my graduation qualifications completed!! I guess it's extremely rare for them to do something like this, and Rosie decided to ask me my thoughts on the matter. The two of them are extremely impressed with me and have really high confidence that I'm about to break through for some reason. I didn't know what to say! I mean, if they had any idea how conflicted I've been feeling about this whole thing lately, I don't know if they'd be so confident in me. That and the fact that I'm so burned out at this point that I really don't think I'm living up to the expectations they have for me. I am really good about being positive on the surface and seeming like I'm putting forth more effort than I think I actually am...maybe I really do, or maybe I'm a good actress! Regardless, I'm flattered about their high view of me. I decided to decline the early transfer because I feel so comfortable at the training center (heck, I'd stay there with my pals forever, if that were feasible), and I feel that jumping ship too early would be detrimental in the long run. (Plus they have all the free brochures and stuff there...hehe.)

In other news, the reason I wanted to just write today stems from a very memorable dream I had last night. It was one of those weird ones that actually has a start and a finish and plays just like a movie...so much so that I decided it could actually BE a movie! It was really bizarre...about a bush baby named Kinkajou (go fig!) that steals people's eyes. It had a twist ending and everything! I probably wouldn't go see the movie (unless I actually shot it myself) just because I'm so grossed out by eye scenes, but I think it could work, as a short film at least...maybe a comedy! So working on that on top of actually reading my multiple screenwriting books and writing up my other ideas (so many ideas!!), I have my work cut out for me!! Hopefully they'll be decent works. Screenwriting is so awkward compared to prose. Still, I think I can make it work!!

And that's life 'til now!! I'm going to try cooking a full meal tonight for my second time EVER!! Let's hope it goes smoothly!! Talk to you later!!

Published at Last!!

After more than a year of waiting (not to mention a couple years of work prior), my thesis has FINALLY been published - I am lead author in a scientific paper!! For anyone who is interested, my article is entitled "Nest Ecology of the Southern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) in Eastern Illinois," and it's published in the journal Northeastern Naturalist. WOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!! That's another thing to add to my resume and yet another reason I wonder what I'm doing in real estate. Each day, I wonder more and more what I'm doing and if I'd be happy here. More and more, I think about how much I love biology. Still, I want to at least break even at this real estate thing before doing anything else...ONE HOUSE...MAYBE TWO!! I guess if I got that far, I might not be as down about it as I've been. Oh well.

In other news, I'm back from Chicago...I was only there briefly to get my eye re-zapped, so I'm sorry if I didn't get to see everyone. I mostly just wanted to recoop and visit with my family whom I rarely get to see when I'm back. I am really glad to be back, though...Illinois just harbors so much negativity for me. New Mexico really is a breath of fresh air. I'd hate to think what would have become of me had I stayed back in ol' IL.

Well, I better get back to unpacking...lots of work to do today yet, and most of it is hidden in my suitcases!!