"The heart has reasons that reason cannot know" -Blaise Pascal

In California nearly all my friends had been born and raised there. Here in Colorado the only person I've met thats lived here their entire life is Aaron; most everyone else has moved within the last 5 years. When I left home I thought I was headed for a city where everyone already knew eachother and they wouldn't accept an outsider like me into their circle. But I'm not quite the pioneer I thought I was. Colorado Springs is the watering hole of America, the true melting pot. It's diverse and refreshing, a chance for opportunity and growth, a place for fresh starts and wandering souls...


As big a city as the springs is, it has a very intimate feel. It's like we have this secret from the rest of the world; Something so light and precious that if you don't hold it closely to you the wind could come at any moment and sweep it away. And even if I wanted to tell you what this secret is, there would be no possible way to describe it. Maybe it's one of those things that when you venture out and take a big risk that doesn't seem to make any sense but some part of you is telling you to do it anyway- maybe thats when your granted what your looking for. When you find yourself there- wherever that may be- the mountains, the rain, and the lightning all lean in and quietly whisper in your ear and the secret is unveiled.

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For the past week I've worked almost everyday. It's been boring for the most part (I brought in books, rubiks cube, gameboy...) but every now and then it would get a little busy and I would have people to chat with. I have mastered the art of small talk. We have gotten a few more weirdos applying for jobs:

Robin- This fellow is 17 and at first I thought he was gay. There is something very fruity about him and I'm pretty sure that he mistook my small talk for me hitting on him because after a couple minutes he got a strange look on his face and then wouldn't stop mentioning his "girlfriend" (whose existence I question). Anyways, everytime I see him I can't help but think of a jolly little lad in tights skipping and singing while strumming his little harp and spreading joy, sparkles, and overall merriness. He was hired.

Jessica- This lady had "crack whore" written all over her scrawny-self. Her hair was an afro of curls and most the time she was waiting- she was having a full on conversation with herself. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying and its probably a good thing. Every now and then she would burst out laughing for no apparent reason. Her interview lasted almost 2 minutes and when she left we all looked at eachother with the same thought: psycho. Not hired.

Nameless guy- I've already told some of you about this guy. He is the one that came in to eat; then, upon discovering we weren't open yet, considered applying. Here is the only part of what happened that you really need to know: Him: "Well, the only job I wanted is already taken." Me: "What's that?" Him: "Taking care of you." Gag me! This was after he asked if I had a boyfriend and proceeded to give me the third degree about my imaginary man- because of course I lied and said that I did have one. Not hired.

Stephanie- At first she seemed normal. Me, her and another gal, Stacy, were talking about waxing and hair cuts. Then, Stacy got called up for her interview and I was left alone with Stephan.....ie. She was in the army, shaved her head twice, was discharged from the army due to a bolt in her knee, was fired from her last job for breaking a guys nose, broke her boyfriends nose (and you thought she was a lesbian didn't you?), and once beat up a girl for looking at her the "wrong way". Not hired.



Today, instead of sitting up front all day I got to clean. I have never been more excited to clean in my life! We spent 4 hours scrubbing chairs and tables and setting up the bar and walk-ins. There is a group of about 10 that has been working for the past couple weeks and we've all become friends, so it's a lot of fun. One of the guys, Matt, and I were going to go play volleyball tonight, but it ended up raining- maybe next time...


Orientation was today and it was long and boring- but it wouldn't be complete without cheesy videos on prejudice/discrimination and sexual harassment. (Ironically enough I was sitting next to Jon, who had been harassing me all week. mostly in good fun of course). The worst part about orientation and training is that we have to wear are uniforms... black v neck shirt, black skirt (no frills, lace, pleats, or pockets) must be one inch above the knee, black stockings or classic black fishnets, black shoes 1/2"-1 1/2" heel. My "full length" mirror is me standing on the bathroom counter trying not to hit my head on the ceiling, and from what I could see I was a nightmare in black. And do you know how hard it is to find a black skirt thats the exact length in summer??? I finally found one at Ross, but its too long so I have to roll it up a few times. Ugh, its a sucky uniform but guess what? My shoes are the all black converse! yeeeaaahhh!!


Things with Aaron have been quiet the past few days, but tonight might not be the same. One of his friends is in town and staying at our house. Joe called Aaron around 8 and he was already quite drunk, so I'm sure he will only get worse. And if I didn't have mandatory training tomorrow I would be in Fort Collins with Joe and it wouldn't be a problem. But I'm not in Fort Collins, so we will see what happens.

I got bit by a spider (I'm guessing) on Tuesday night while I was sleeping. I woke up to what I just assumed was a little bug bite, but now it's looking really bad. It has gotten really swollen and painful- it hurts to even walk. It's red all around with a black center. Here is a picture of it:



The top picture was taken on Thursday and the one below was taken about 10 minutes ago. It's looking blotchy too- I hope thats not a bad thing.




Hopefully it gets better since I don't have health insurance yet... I just want it to go away soon.


Soccer is good. I had two games on Thursday; My D-3 team absolutly dominated while my D-4 team got dominated. The sad thing is, I had more fun losing than winning. Attitude makes all the difference and the D3 is so uptight that its no fun, even to win like we did. But D4 was so much fun- we were all laughing and having a good time. After our game we went to Old Chicago and I didn't even get carded!!! But I only had water anyways because I had another game that night- but it was a good bonding experience none-the-less.


The weather has been perfect this week! Everyday has been mid 70's to mid 80's and every afternoon it's rained. I love it!!! After todays little shower there was a rainbow that spanned the whole sky. This is a picture of one side of it from our back yard.



Sorry the pictures kind of suck, but I don't remember where I last put my camera and so all I have is my cell phone.

My friends Sean and Daniel are flying out here on Tuesday and I'm excited to see some familiar faces! The only downside is that I have training while they are here so there is going to be a large chunk of time that they will have to entertain themselves.

That's all for this week. I'm sure there are some things I'm forgetting but oh well.

Hope you guys are doing good and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Love you all!