Burning Up

It's officially summer in Colorado...which means it is officially HOT!!!

Today, it's supposed to be 95 degrees.

My apartment (along with much of the apartments out here) is not air conditioned.  This is fine at night because it still gets decently cold at night.  Until the sun sets behind the mountains, though, it's pretty toasty!

Still, I've had a lot of fun in the heat!

The other night, Margaux and her sister, Isabella (who's in town for a week or so), came over and we danced and just goofed around.  This, of course, included some very random pictures!

Last week, I participated in Ad2 Denver's annual kickball tournament with a bunch of people from Vladimir Jones, the advertising agency where I work.  We unfortunately didn't do so well...but we did well enough that we didn't make it into the losers bracket (but not well enough to get in the winners bracket, either!).  We all had a lot of fun, though.  It seemed to me that the day is more about making connections with other people in advertising (both on the agency and the vendor side) and lots and lots of drinking.  I volunteered to be DD, though, so no boozing it up for me!

Triathlon training has been consuming a little bit more of my life lately, as well.  August 28th isn't too far away and, although I can already swim, run and cycle the distances of the triathlon I will be doing, I don't want to just show up and do it.  I want to really give it my all!  Last night, I had the best swim I've had in years...I swam 1100 yards (a little less than twice the distance I'll be swimming in August), all at a brisk pace.  Sometimes, I have a tendency to get lazy and linger at the ends of the pool since I'm awful at flip turns and don't generally (and by "generally," I mean "ever") do them, but I was actually swimming to the wall and immediately going back out.  I am even getting the hang of this whole breathing to the side thing (although having long bangs does not make this so fun...gotta get a swim cap!).  I'm very thankful for the people who have helped me out with everything so far!

On Friday, Lola and I are heading to Indianapolis for a week to spend the 4th with family!  Not looking forward to the drive through Kansas in 100 degree weather, but it'll be nice to see everyone again!

Run, Riley, run!

One Year

One year ago today, I arrived in Colorado Springs with my brother after a long day in the car.  And I'm currently writing from Indiana, a few days after yet another long day in the car with my brother.  It's amazing what can happen in a year...looking back at everything, I'm shocked that it's only been that long!

So, true to form...some photo highlights from the year that has elapsed.  They aren't in any particular order.

Played tourist with brother for the first week in "Colo Spgs"

Went rafting on the Arkansas River twice in July

Tackled two 14,000+ ft. mountains in one day, successfully summiting one before storms drove us back to treeline

Got certified to scuba dive (again) with Jimmy

Conquered the Incline...multiple times

Lived here and spent a LOT of time staring at this view (and no, it still hasn't gotten old)

Worked for the USOC's Digital Media department

Went to some Rockies games

Did the Incline way too many times!

Climbed Pikes Peak with a little pit stop at Devil's Playground

"Acquired" an Iron Man mask

Went to the Coors Brewery in Golden

Made (and lost) some good friends

Had one hell of a Halloween

Attempted to make grilled cheese over an open fire on 4th of July weekend

Worked as an official photographer at a pentathlon world cup in Palm Springs, CA

Moved into an apartment

Got a puggle named Lola

Had a lovely 25th birthday

Learned to ski on the Rocky Mountains

Made a friendship that will last a lifetime

Made and played tourist with some friends at work...and said goodbye to one of them

Made some Russian friends and had some crazy nights with them!

Played dress up at an awards dinner

Got my Masters degree

Gave into my love for tart frozen yogurt any chance I got

Got into photography and saved my pennies for my very own Nikon D90

Had a LOT of cupcakes...including the original bacon cupcake from Tee and Cakes!

Celebrated Hanukkah

Shared lots of stories...and drank a lot of Starbucks (which, coincidentally, was where lots of those stories were shared)

Went to the first US team trials for the London 2012 Olympic Games (they were for taekwondo)

Worked as production assistant on a video series shoot with 1996 gold medalist Dan O'Brien

Saw one of the most amazing sights in nature - Colorado's Great Sand Dunes

Went a little crazy at the USOC Warehouse Sale

Got some speedskates

Wore a gold medal (which belonged to 2010 gold medalist, Steve Mesler)

Got published...a lot

Saw quite a bit of colorful Colorado

All in all, quite the year.  And the photos don't even begin to cover EVERYTHING that went on, obviously.  If I put a photo from everything I did this year, I might break the internet!  

Needless to say, I've learned a lot and had a lot of great experiences.  I've met some amazing people, made some great friends and learned who maybe wasn't as great of a friend as I thought.  I figured out what I truly want to do with my life, and I made great steps in the direction I want to go. 

Let's see where the next year takes me!

Transition

I'm changing this blog a bit.  I haven't updated in awhile, but now that I'm moving out to Colorado for good, it'll be a good way to keep in touch with family about what's going on in my life.

I have two days left at the USOC.  It's been a fantastic, life-changing experience.  I've made amazing friends and professional connections.  I've discovered a passion for two things I didn't really recognize before: amateur sports and digital media.  I finally know what I want to do with my life.

So, to get to that next part of my life, I'm starting a new job on Monday.  I'm going to be an assistant media planner/buyer at Vladimir Jones, an advertising agency in Colorado Springs.  The company sounds fantastic and they really seem to have their stuff together.  It'll be a great chance for me to learn about all kinds of marketing venues while actually working with real clients.

This weekend, I'm going to be moving into a new apartment at Boulder Crescent, right downtown.  I'll be able to walk to work!  It's exciting!

I'm looking forward to some new experiences and sticking around Colorado...after all, I've still got quite a few 14ers to conquer!