Back and processing...

I'm back in Denver after a long trip through Snowbird Utah --> Soldonta AK --> Homer AK --> Seward AK --> Anchorage AK --> Fairbanks AK and now back again.

Some of the highlights- the Norman Lowell gallery north of Homer, the Bear Valley winery in Homer (raspberry wine that tastes like alcohol soaked raspberries... so yummy), Moose's Tooth pizza in Anchorage, Chena Hot Springs... hot springs- need I say more, generous collegues who invited us to dinner at their house and cooked the most amazing salmon I have ever tasted, seeing Mt McKinnley, and just the overwhelming beauty of the state of Alaska.

The couple of weeks on the road were packed full of a million little adventures. Wildlife sightings included bald eagles, moose, a bear, caribou, and so many birds. The mountain ranges were awe inspiring, the random lakes frozen over and then the rivers with ice blocks on the edge were facinating. 

All in all there were so many people to meet and things to think that I could go on for hours. But my constant running about wore me out so I've been sick and silent for a few days as I've been all worn out. Till later....

In Alaska...

It's a mountain year- I've moved to the foot of the Rockies, been chilling at Snowbird Utah, and now I'm in Alaska about to head off on some scenic highway to who knows where... Later this summer I will go out to the Sierra Nevadas. Life is about mountains this year... suggestions for next year's theme are being accepted now...

This will be short but I am not sure when I'll get internet again. It's been a long day and I'm going to go grab some dinner and head off driving to explore. So off I go into the wild of AK.. just me, two computers, lots of outdoor clothes, and a few books. I'll muse later :-)

Amidst the mountains...

It's been awhile... there has been a bit of drama in the last couple of weeks. Life is upended in some ways both little and a bit more. Life is not anything torterous or horrid- just altered. 

I am back on the road again. After having a realtatively low travel life for the past 8-9 months it's back to the frequent flier life. I'm at a conference now up in the mountains and while I'm in the middle of tons of people it's wierd not to have a tether to a home. It makes it a bit lonely. As tonight was a meeting night for most- I'm taking the night off from people. 

 

Life is overall good and this week I remembered why I made this life change. It's good to hear people think I belong in the fed circle in the resource management world. Listening to the rumblings I have heard a cautious optimism creeping into our vernacular that I haven't seen in years. I have heard a change in tone from management in just the last few months I've been back. 

So there is optimism in the air which is starting to seep in a bit. So to wear off the lonley I am going to go work out staring at the snowy mountains. Life is a bit of a mixed up new normal but it seems to be sorting itself out. Tomorrow I present and I am starting to find that I can only control so much of the process and I must grant the rest back to the universe...

To my friend... thinking of you during the river at the rapids point... take a breath during the eddies and know we've got your back when it hits the rough patches.

Seriously?

Seriously what did I do to deserve bad karma these days? Who in the universe did I offend or treat so poorly to have these moments all condensed into a couple of days- the never ending little moments that when isolated are not even minor bumps in the road but when strung together seem to inundate me at every turn.

It's the little things- the boss breaking into a conversation with a friend I haven't seen for over 2 years to tell me- there are major problems come to my office immediately... and it's just scheduling issues we've known about for weeks and brought to management's attention at least once. It's amazing how different the reaction is when another manager brings up the same issues. 

It's the system going down when I'm in the middle of developing a project... it's the essay question phrased just so that I can't reuse content that I've already written and will have to start from nearly scratch... It's the letter from the moving company that they really did loose my things and for the last time they are not looking anymore....

It's nothing big and nothing monumental but it's the little things that add up to wanting to curl up in a safe place to be told that everything is all right... so when things go topsy turvy and the safe places are gone - well what is the reaction?

Honestly I think the reaction is to run- to somewhere different to somewhere with sights you haven't seen to start working on that over stimulation of the brain in a way other than by the little trials and tribulations of the day.  It's the desire to go shopping for a new gear toy to take pictures of the new places and to focus so solely on experiencing everything around you that you replace the experiences within you for a short duration of time till things die down a bit.

I have a few more days to be an adult and do all those supposed to do things before I escape to the road for 2 weeks. I might get a camera to better capture the adventures of the summer- um retail therapy I'm sure. Who knows what the future holds? So far every time I think I get a sense of it- well I get turned on my head. So what is there to do but jump into the river- feet pointed downstream- cold water rushing me along- and hope for an eddy to rest but be prepared for the rocks none the less. 

So universe... send some good karma my way would you? I promise I'm being a good person or at least really trying these days...

Unanticipated changes...

So this will be rambling tonight- it's been a long weekend and not in the happy go lucky way that has defined the Denver experience so far. Nothing life ending but simply altering...

So there are certain things that are not within the control of an individual- and one of those is relationships. Relationships involve more than one person so they by definition can't be controlled by one person. So as you may have guessed the new guy is no longer my guy. No horrid story here just a realization that the end destinations apparently are on different continents. 

So just lots of thinking this weekend and lots of walking though an event in Denver exploring historical hotels. Walking resets the brain a bit and the stained glass distracted me in all the gorgeous light. It was nice to have a sunny day again after a few days of gray and slush- I really needed the sun.

So I'm sure it will be the normal crazy week and then Sunday I leave for 2 weeks.... so I'm not sure if it is more distracting to be on the road or at home... who knows- I guess I'll find out, right? So I'm sure it will get better and I'm sure life will go back to a new normal... and till then life moves on and I keep rolling with it.