My Happy Place

Water skiing on Horsetooth Reservoir

Well, I think it's safe to say I've landed for a spell.  After three weeks of non-stop "settling" Fort Collins is certainly treating me well.  I feel like I've landed in a foreign village for the first time and with no expectations, the surprises have been pleasant to say the least.

Those who know me well...or really anyone whom I've talk with for 5 minutes knows that "settle" is a 4-letter word in my book.  So much to do and so many places to go always meant perpetual motion.  After the purchases of a chest freezer and folding end table,  I must say, this whole moving-in thing is great!  Coffee in the morning hasn't been this great since french-pressing in Benin...well AND porch coffee in Alaska.  But this time my bathroom is INSIDE!!!!

Since Lizzy, Tara and myself hadn't been in the same room for two years (!) we got together on Labor day to celebrate friendships and a new addition to our group of ladies, Olivia!  The little nugget was great and Daddy was even better, giving us girls some talk time.

The real reason for a gathering was to start working on emptying the chest freezer.  Master chef Tara concocted something with cilantro and cardamon for the salmon.  Super tasty and she followed with a homemade blueberry pie. I swear, I am the best-fed grad student in history.

School is moving along swimmingly.  Every day brings new thoughts and twists on some pre-conceived notion I had about working in the developing world.  If this program is doing anything for me, it's certainly broadening my employment search awareness and making me more confused than ever...in a very good way.  Interesting that accounting is quickly becoming a favorite as it's the only class with REAL objective answers.  If assets don't equal liabilities and stock. equity then you're wrong!  Every other class is extremely subjective and I'm finding comfort in concrete solutions.

In other news, I've joined the Fort Collins women's rugby team. A great group of women who show up to have a good time.  Felt nice to tackle again and found I even missed wearing a mouthguard.  More to come on game updates but seems as though we'll have a "building" season.

Hope everyone has finally cooled off, it's 70 degrees and sunny here, always.