"epic"

It is very rare with my job that I actually get a Saturday off, so when that occurred this past weekend I definitely made the most of it!

First off, I hiked my very first 2 14ers. For those of you not hip with the Colorado lingo, a 14er is a mountain that is higher than 14,000 feet above sea level. There are 58 14ers in Colorado. I hiked Grays and Torres, 2 14ers that are connected by a small saddle in between them. The hike went well. I went with Joel Baker, a friend from Calvin, and his older sister Ginni who moved out to Denver with my sister Sara. Ginni and Joel are both much faster hikers than I am, but since the trail was crowded, I did not feel "left behind". They would pause and wait for me at intervals on the way up too! The day was, as one of our fellow hikers put it, "epic". Not a cloud in the sky, the weather was perfect. I felt good after the hike - the altitude made my heart beat faster and faster as I climbed, and the way down was WAY longer than I felt it should be, but I'm so proud of myself for this accomplishment!

After the hike we stopped at Beau Jos for some great Colorado pizza. When I got back to Denver I was exhausted, but had a message that my sister and her fiancee were going to meet my brother and his friends for dinner. My brother had been in Denver from Chicago for about a week and I hadn't seen him yet, so I took a quick shower and met them. Turns out my brother's friend had an extra ticket to the Cubs/Rockies game that night, so I ended up joining them. What a great game it was! It was the only good Cubs game of the series, and it definitely made up for the horrible baseball that the Cubs had played while I was at the game Friday night. (Nothing can easily make up for Sunday and Monday's horrible games, but at least I wasn't sitting through them at the field.) The game Saturday was made all the more fun by the abundance of Cubs fans in the seats. At the end of the game we were able to sing "Hey Chicago, whadda say, the Cubs are gonna win today. Go Cubs go!" at the top of our lungs. It was such a great Cubs moment! Cubs fans are some of my favorite people ever :)

Now this week the family has begun arriving in town. My sister Sara gets married on Saturday here in Denver. Good times!

Life is an adventure (and an exciting one at that!)

I'm getting better these days at making life about more than just work. I do enjoy my work, but 40 hours a week should not define your whole life! I have fallen into a constant schedule the past few weeks. I've been working the 3-11 shift, but I've been getting better at waking up at 9 or 10 to get the day started before I have to go to work! Though without many friends who are free on weekday mornings, I have done some exploring without going too far from home :) My roommate Rachel and I both bought summer passes to Elitch Gardens, the downtown amusement and water park, so we've been there 3 times already! It's nice to just go for a few hours before or after work. Last Saturday morning was free day at the Denver Art Museum, so Rachel and I went there for the morning! Then at church Sunday I ran into my college friend Joel Baker. He's in Denver for the month of August and unemployed, so last night I called him and we ended up going for a bike ride on the Platte River trail this morning! It's so nice to have such a productive and enjoyable day even before I have to get going to work! Ginni, Joel, and I all went out for lunch after our bike ride. Even when I can't hang out at night, there are still people I can spend my days with, and it's nice to find more of those people!

I am looking forward to having my family in town for my sister's wedding in a week and a half. That will definitely keep me busy! Sara and I get together to do wedding things (make invitations, programs, etc.) usually about one morning a week. Just one more way to stay busy, and it's nice to have the time with my sister too! The summer is just going by so quickly. I can't believe it's August already. Luckily, I may get to hike a 14er yet... Joel and Ginni are planning a trip sometime soon - maybe this Saturday? I hope so! This will be my first Saturday off in a long time, and what a great way that would be to spend it! Also this weekend - Cubs game Friday night at Coors Field! Whoo hoo - I can't wait!

Excerpt from a letter to a friend

"In church last week I started thinking about my true purpose on this earth. I think I want to create true community on this earth, but that can take so many forms! It can mean literally designing communities by becoming an urban planner, or it can mean living simply in an intentional community, or it can mean moving to another country to be part of empowering others to make their own communities sustainable. And who knows - maybe over the course of my life I'll end up doing all these things."

But the question remains...where do I begin?

I am happy in Denver. I love my job at the hotel, I love my new roommates in my new apartment from which I walk to work, I love playing on the church softball team and living in a city which I can walk, bike, or bus anywhere I need to go. I love Rockies games at Coors Field. I love the sunshine and the sight of the mountains. I would love to get into those mountains more frequently! I am ok with the fact that I signed a year-long lease in April. I am content to be where I am for the next year. I don't know what the future will bring, but for now, that is ok. The one thing I do know - I will be in GR in June, at least from the 22nd through the 26th. I do hope to see everyone who is there. And for those of you in the Chicago area (Natalie and Josho?), June 20-21 are yours! So, family and friends - lets get together!

Working things

In case you didn't know yet, I have a job! I am working at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel in downtown Denver. I work the front desk as well as an occasional shift as a bell hop. At the front desk I check guests in and out as well as taking room service orders, making reservations, chatting with people who walk by, and being an all around resource person for guests (including being a concierge). As the bell hop, my duties include driving guests around in our complimentary shuttle and delivering room service orders. I really love my job. It's currently only part time, but I am hoping for it to become a full time job in the next few months, and that is a strong possibility.

I also held an internship for the last two weeks, but that's over now...let me tell you the story. I got this internship at the Colorado Division of Housing. I am looking at urban planning as a possibility of where I want to go next in my life. The Colorado Division of Housing does not do urban planning specifically, but since they are involved in the urban development field and I have a friend who works there, I thought I would give it a shot. Unfortunately, the internship was not working out very well - the conditions were frustrating in that there was not enough space in the office for me to have a desk/computer/phone on a regular basis (they started hiring right after I started), and, although things were starting to improve in terms of my discovering what exactly I was supposed to be doing there, it was overall a difficult situation. I was dreading going in everyday and felt that it could not continue in that vein. Luckily, my supervisor recognized the frustrations and realized that at this time it was not feasible for me to be in an internship that I was not benefitting from. He realzied this without my having to bring it up, which was really nice for me! I got out of a frustrating situation and saved face! He said he may call in 2-3 weeks if he can get a work station set up for me, but if the hotel job does give me more hours then I will not be accepting the offer. We'll just have to see what happens if and when the offer comes again. I would still like to consider urban planning, but there must be a better way to go about it...

Oh, and p.s., the engagements continue! My sister Sara and her fiancee John will be getting married on August 15, my friends Sarah and Joey will be getting married October 3, and my friends Jeremy and Laura are not far behind! Congrats to all of these couples on your engagements!

Next Steps

Just because I'm done with my semester in Ghana, it doesn't mean this blog has to end. The title of my blog (not all those who wander are lost) refers to a journey. I am still on a journey, though it's no longer happening in Africa. One of my new life mottos: Life is a journey, not a destination. It makes it much easier to deal with the fact that I don't know exactly what I want to do or where I want to live for the rest of my life.

So what does my life consist of right now? Well, I am currently living in Denver, Colorado. My sister who owns a house out here was nice enough to offer me cheap rent as I am still looking for a form of employment. I would love to find some sort of urban planning or community development job, but am flexible as to what form that job will take. In fact, I am also applying for retail jobs that offer benefits and would love to spend time volunteering doing something I really enjoy. That seems to be the most likely way to get involved in this field with the economy where it currently stands...

I have been in Denver for 2 weeks now, and have taken the time to get to know myself a bit more (I watch more tv when I'm bored and lonely than I ever thought I would), getting to know the city and state better, and meeting people at church. I went snowshoeing for the first time yesterday with my sister and her boyfriend, and really enjoyed that though I am a bit sore today! I have also really jumped into life at City Presbyterian Church here in Denver, already attending a few church events! I am glad I have found a community there already, because I am missing my community in Grand Rapids quite a lot. Thanks to my friend Sarah, who is also leaving Grand Rapids right now, I am starting to remember the value I originally saw in moving away as well - getting some new life experience. And just because I moved away now doesn't mean I'll never move back!