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New Mountain, little time

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

So far Vail has been cool.  I am a chalet host which means that I have guests come and stay with me for two weeks at a time.  Most from the U.K..  I meet them after jet lag, feed them breakfast and dinner for the duration they are here, and then wish them well when they go.

 The cooking is good fun.  I try and figure out what people like in the first couple days and then have a bunch of good dinners after they go sking.

 I’ve only been up on the mountain a few times since the job includes planning meals, budgeting for the meals, and getting the food for three days at a time.  I get one day off but a bunch of time during the day where I can multi-task and work on my plans. 

I’ve been going over to Breck to hang out with the people there that I met when I started this job.  It’s a fun town and I miss it but haven’t given up on Vail.  Just a different town and a different scene.  On the surface I don’t dig the fur and the glitz.  But there are a ton of international people here and I am hearing more and more Spanish around town. 

Ecuador in the spring!!

The “better get it down so I’ll always remember” Post from Denver, Colorado the day after I spent fifteen hours traveling.. Dang

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

Yeah so I am back and trying to figure out about five things at once.. Including why English speakers are just so dang boring sometimes.  I mean say it like you mean it and get it over with will ya?  Got some stuff to do know.  Two job interviews lined up and a bunch of places that I can stay while figuring it out.  So much activity. 

Left Quito and jumped on a plane for the day.  So hard to leave and so much fun to be had once I go back.  Can’t wait to jump in a do more with the foundation that I worked with.  Yanapuma Foundation.  They rock, Thier Spanish School rocks, the peoples who go to the spanish school and volunteer there rock!

I need people who are on the lookout for volunteer projects and who are traveling to Ecuador to get in touch with me.  I would love for you to be able to take materials from America to Quito for kids who need to learn English.  And just cause it’s a cool thing to do and can meet interesting people.

Well there is much to be done on my end for the timing to end up right and to ensure that things end up moving along in a faster pattern than previously realized possible.  Tomorrow will be a good start and I am hoping that things just fall into place after the two interviews.  The cool thing about being in Quito is that stuff was set up so it would go well with the expectation that things would progress in the future.  How good is that!

So I spent the day lining things up for the return to Breckenridge and work for the winter plan.  I can see it happen and expect things to work themselves out shortly.  It would also be really fun and heartwarming to hear from a few people that I know now that I’m back.  It’s really been a while since I’ve been in Colorado for anytime over a week and can see starting  to get in touch with people I know here are seeing a lot more of them than in the last months.

I also have a thing for the irish now and am starting to look around for an Irish Pub to work for either in Breckenridge or in Denver.  I’m hoping that Breckenridge will work out as I would love to spend the season cooking and basking in the mountain sunshine.  The guy I somehow go a hold of is being a really good guy which is a relief and a welcome sight.

When there is no time to have fun that means something has to change.  I mean come on people life is always fun.  You just have to look at it the right way with the right people..  Isn’t that what rock bands are about.. So why do you spend more time listening to music rather than go out and find the people that wrote the songs?  Isn’t it more interesting when you have people there with you that can relate to you while the song is playing..

Just a thought.  And another one.. The only language a lot of Americans understand is the one with dollars and cents.  Really it took me a while to figure out but most people in Ecuador would much rather talk to you but assume that you only know how to ask for change and recognize numbers.. It really put things in perspective for me.  Not to mention got some vendors talking to me about a few things.

Bars were the best place to start up conversations.  Really had fun when I could sit and talk to someone in Spanish and they understood.   Just took a little getting over the langauge barrier and the nerves about not knowing the right thing to say or how to say it..  Takes some work to figure that out but once I relaxed about not knowing a lot I started to figure it out.  Go Figure.   You spend a whole lot of time figuring out what you think yo need to say and then right when your not looking I’m speaking in conversational spanish.  Just don’t know how to ask the bus driver anything.  But pretty much understood every word he said.

It is possible for life to go the right way I’m thinking.  What stops me when I’m thinking that I have starting to break through.  Just the tough part doesn’t begin to descibe the enjoyment of the journey.  Live to live.  Give some people some time.  Have some fun.  Be passionate.  Use your head.. Know really use your head.  Doesn’t make sense when the dead don’t interfere with the living.  Why not hit each day as if it were new and had something for you to do, experience, enjoy, and inhabit more fully?  These are not tragic circumstances that We are in living our own lives.. Why not use the days making progress and having fun things happen?

It’s always been maisons and caviar for the peeps I grew up with.. Good lord what in the hell are they all thinking about?  Nice to look at but not at the top of my list right now.

Luck of the Irish to Ya!

Travel Day

Monday, October 22nd, 2007
So today I am going to hop on a bus and find some sunshine. Just need a little time out of the city and in the mountains, on the coast, and without a grammer lesson. Spanish school has been good ... [Continue reading this entry]

Mui facil es Engles

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
So today I woke up at five in the morning to the sound of constuction outside my window.. How do you start building shite at five in the morning in downtown Quito.. Seattle weather outside.. Rain, Rain, ... [Continue reading this entry]

first week

Friday, October 5th, 2007
 I have just finished my first week of Spanish classes> four hours a day and at the end of the day I can't remember a thing..  But I have a great teacher who knows when to demand my attention..

Quito

Sunday, September 30th, 2007
So I think there is a rule that the minute you take a step out of your world you intantly get what you need the most when you arrive at your destination.. It´s a liitle suprising when you walk into an ... [Continue reading this entry]

last minute details

Sunday, September 30th, 2007
It's about time to go and I have been busy trying to remember everything I need to do and who I need to contact. I did manage to see a few people before I leave but on the whole it's been ... [Continue reading this entry]

going to Ecuador Thursday

Monday, September 24th, 2007
I am going to Ecuador on Thursday for a month to learn Spanish and volunteer.  And yup, I am pretty dang psyched up for it.  the organization that I am going to participate with is here!  [Continue reading this entry]

going to grand lake

Thursday, August 30th, 2007
I am going to be staying at the grand lake lodge for two nights before it is sold!! Gotta go! It's been almost a year since I have seen a bunch of people and two little kids that ... [Continue reading this entry]

remember me?

Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
Hi Jon, I am glad to hear you liked the stuff Yanapuma is doing. I would be happy to set it all up for you with them if you let me know which program caught your interest, when you would ... [Continue reading this entry]