Oh, the Insanity...

Years from now (or even next month) I am going to look back on June 2007 and think "How the hell did I do all that?"

The first week of this month, I helped my mom make the drive to Vermont. She'll be there all summer as she and my father always have done. It's just now there is no Dad around to walk in the house and ask for a sandwich. My mom has decided the house needs a deck (and I agree!) so she and The Long Islanders are building one. I like this idea, it leads me to believe that she is not going to be selling the house - HOORAY!! It was really nice to be there and I was glad to have the hang out time with my mom.

So after Vermont I had 3 days in Atlanta to pack up my apartment and get ready to teach this class for work over in Europe. Well, I at least got to go through everything in my apartment and pull out all the stuff for Salvation Army. But pack? Hmmmmm.... not gonna happen. Time is money and I had no time but I had money, so I hired people to pack and load my truck after I returned from Europe.

I started to prep for the class the day I was flying out to Europe. Of course, my computer chooses that exact morning to bring on the Blue Screen of Death. Luckily, it was not my hard drive that died, it was the actual computer. I had a spare computer and was able to pop my hard drive into that machine, and off I went. I was able to prep on the plane en route to France.

By the way, Charles DeGaul Airport is THE WORST airport in the world and should be avoided at all costs. Going to Paris? Fly to a neighboring country and take the TGV in. Seriously.

Anyhow - Paris was fine, but I speak a whole lot less French than I thought I did! Maybe it was stage fright? I don't know, but tout les mots escaped me... oh well. I actually didn't like Paris as much as I expected to - everyone there was very nice, I was just tired and not in the best mood in getneral. I will have to go back when I am in a better frame of mind.

So from Paris I went to Germany to teach... Ich liebe Deutschland! LIEBE LIEBE LIEBE!!! Great people, great attitude, and great little town outside Frankfurt. I had only one year of German but did just fine with it and had no problem at all. They speak tons of English and they love foreigners - or that was my impression, anyhow. And I taught my class there with flying colors. I have to say it was by far my best performance as a teacher, and the students just loved me to death, which is a really nice way to end my time with Hyperion. :) Definitely went out with a bang!

So I flew back to the US on Friday, after having been moved from one hotel to another due to fire (more on that in another post!) Connecting through CDG is an all-day affair, I had almost 3 hours and I nearly missed my flight. No, not kidding.

Saturday morning the Salvation Army was scheduled to come pick up everything from my place in Atlanta, I had a LOT of stuff to donate. Well, they showed up over an hour before they were supposed to, and since I was out running I missed them (of course!!) Luckily The Jart and The Style Queen were around, so they helped me load the pickup with everything and I just dropped it off at the donation center on my way out of town. I was driving to Tampa to return the pickup to The Establishment South before I leave the ATL for Denver.

Well damn if the truck doesn't overheat right as I get on the road. It all worked out and I was able to get it fixed but most of my Saturday afternoon was spent going back and forth between this brick building that was owned by these 2 old mechanics (and I'd recommend them ANYTIME, they are great guys who really know their stuff) and the McDonald's next door. 5 hours later, I was *actually* on the road with a well-functioning truck.

I made it to The Establishment South at about 1:30 AM. Slug Brother was nice enough to go to the house and unlock the door for me so that I didn't have to crawl through the window. (In true Liz form, I had left the Florida house key on my dining room table in Atlanta. Figures.)

The next day the guys came over to resurface the dock - I went to the beach. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, thinking I could spend all afternoon enjoying the sun. Good thing I didn't because in the mere 2 hours I was there I managed to sunburn the CRAP out of myself. No lie, I am Lobster Liz even today, 2 days later. It is fading, though.

And so I returned to Atlanta Sunday night. Movers came to pack up the apartment yesterday. Today they are loading the truck and I am wrapping up my work with Oracle|Hyperion. Mr. Colorado will be here tonight and we'll play around the ATL for a couple days before driving to Denver and my new abode full of new cool roomies. New Job starts Monday and I'm so excited.

But I really am going to look back on this month and wonder how I didn't just implode from the craziness.

there she goes again

So... I accepted New Job in Denver and will be moving there at the end of the month. (My apologies to those of you who are finding out RIGHT NOW as you read this.)

I have the same nervous, scared, sad feelings I had when I did this the first time. I'm worried about moving in to a house with complete strangers (though they seem super nice, and hell, I've moved in to random houses before and come out with friends for life). I'm scared that this job is more than I am capable of... but then, every job I've taken recently (at least my last 3) has been a huge challenge and I did just fine. I'm sad to leave my friends. Most have been nothing but supportive, and even though some folks have been angry at me, I know it's out of concern. I will miss my friends; there is no getting away from that.

I know some people think I'm nuts for doing this (and I kinda agree with them). Let's face it, my life is upside down. Company got bought, dad died, sister moved to Houston, new job, moving to a new town... it seems I do best when I am out of my element. My comfort zone seems to be me leaping from my comfort zone - ha. Well, I always land on my feet and I don't expect this time to be any different.

And let's not even start on Mr. Colorado: I know I know... "what the heck is she thinking even talking to him?" Well, she's thinking there is no way she will ever know whether or not it's for real unless she sees for herself. Kinda like Car Guy. But unlike Car Guy, I am going into this with a lot of faith and hope in what might be. And if I come out disappointed, so be it. We all know I recover quickly. But perhaps it will be the best thing to ever happen to us. Optimism!

Who knows what will happen, the universe is still unfolding exactly as it should. I thank God for the friends and family members who have shown me nothing but support even though they may be bummed I'm leaving. (And trust me, I'm bummed too!) But seriously, from picking me up off the kitchen floor to helping me pack to reminding me why I'm doing the right thing to crying with me on the couch to meeting me in obscure cities for dinner for just being there for me these past couple months as my whole life turned over - I love you and I want to thank you for being my friend.

In the middle of all this uncertainty, I do know this: I believe my Aunt JB when she said "Your ancestors are whispering in your ear, 'Come to Colorado, it's where you belong!'" I love it there. I'm moving in to house full of good people who enjoy the same things I enjoy, and I'll be walking distance from the nicest mall in the area. I'm making riding buddies online already, I'm going to be working with my Career Idol and a team of people who seem like older, wiser versions of myself (and I like myself, so this is good!!) Mr. Colorado is excited I'm coming, and I'm excited that we'll be in the same town, too. OH and I will be there in time to do the Moonlight Classic Ride AND to get killer deals on new skis, boots and bindings before the first snow falls. And even if I'm not living in the same town, I know that you take your good friends with you wherever you go.

Those snow-capped Rocky Mountains look even prettier through my rose colored glasses this second time around. I am truly blessed.