So I just moved to a city that is consistently ranked as one of the fittest in the country. Outside Magazine actually called it the best place to live in America this year.
I also happened to work on a complex where at any given time, a few hundred athletes are busily training for various competitions.
The two are conspiring to remind me that my workout habits during my Boston years were dismal at best. I vaguely remember a time when it was normal to go for a run and then hit up Taco Tuesday with a bunch of other sweaty people but...maybe that was just a dream?
The good news is that my new city and my new job are also generously offering ways to get me back on track. One fairly enormous job perk is that we all have access to the facilities at the Training Center. So last night I changed in my office and walked a whopping 100 yards to the weight room. Let me tell you that your motivation to keep running goes through the roof when you realize the guy next to you could very well be training for London in 2012. I fought through some lingering effects of seven years of living at sea level and left a 45 minute run later feeling like, well, some kind of Olympian. Must be in the air.
Then tonight I met up with some friends at a bar downtown that hosts a weekly 5K. They do it every Tuesday and afterwards everyone comes back for a spaghetti dinner. Every Tuesday! And it was PACKED! And there were so many good looking boys! You really can't go two blocks in this town without seeing some cute guy in spandex.
Colorado Springs, if you intend to rescue me from the chains of the DVR, I think you are onto something.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Waldo
Through some tragic mix-up in the universe, my brother and his wife planned an East Coast trip that worked out to be two weeks after I moved. So they are in Boston this week and I am living vicariously through text messages and my roommate who got to have dinner with them tonight. And these "where's morgan" photos Christopher has been sending me.
I think I would feel much worse if I didn't just move about 2000 miles closer to the little devil.
I think I would feel much worse if I didn't just move about 2000 miles closer to the little devil.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Rocky Mountain High
Leaving Boston was a wee bit harder then I thought it would be. Last time I left I knew that the majority of my close friends were on their way out of town as well. I was a little sad to go but so much was changing anyway and there were enough palm trees in my future that I was overjoyed to get on that plane. My first year back was brutal but I absolutely believe that I asked for every minute of it with all that "praying for growth opportunities" when I was feeling stagnant in HB. I made some dear, dear friends this last time around and I'm certain that I left a stronger, more humble, and more empathetic person then I was when I arrived. I also know that Boston was the best place for me to learn so many of the lessons of the last 18 months. I also know that you could tell me that Tim Riggins and a million dollars were waiting for me if I'd move back and THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD GO!
My sweet mother came out to help me pack/load/drive from MA to CO and she was an amazing help. This will sound so stupid to all of you who are married but we discovered my rear brakes were grinding two days before we left and she just took care of it while I was at work. She was a complete rock star and I don't know how I would have done it all without her. We drove for five days, saw lots of cites, drank lots of Dr. Pepper and finally rolled into the Springs on Monday afternoon. We watched the end of The Way We Were and then slept for about ten lovely hours. It was a good way to begin my time here. My step-dad came to pick her up the next day and I felt just a twinge of what it was like fifteen years ago this month when she dropped little freshman me off at SUU. That's right, I'm 32 years old and I still cried a little when my mom left me in a new city.
I started work on Wednesday. Is it OK if I gush just a little bit? I am pretty sure I've died and gone to job heaven. It is going to be a LOT of work but I am so excited about it. After the Winter Games were over in Salt Lake, all I wanted to do was to keep following the Games. I didn't, and I'm glad I made the career decisions that I did over the last seven years. But I feel incredibly blessed to be back in the Olympic world and doing something that makes me excited to go to work. On Friday we did Habitat for Humanity as a team and then went back to our Director's house and sat on his patio and chatted and I had to keep pinching myself that I get to be part of this team. It's spooky and awesome all at once the way things are working out.
And I guess that's the most important lesson in my whole Beantown Round 2 experience. I had been there just a couple of months when we had a Stake Conference speaker whose message was pretty much, "keep your faith up, things work out." I am finally getting that through my stubborn head. I am realizing that it so rarely works out in the way you hope/plan/expect but it's really often so much better. I found this quote earlier this year when I was doing some studying on Faith. It's from Joel Osteen who is a bit cheesy but I love the idea behind it...
God is ready to present you with new opportunities. He wants to open new doors before you. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world around you, in the economy, the housing industry, or with job reports; God’s Word still remains true. He rewards the people who seek after Him. He’s not the least bit concerned about how He’s going to supply your needs. There is no recession in heaven. He has His eye on you, and He still opens doors that no one can shut! In an instant, He can bring the right people into your life, the right opportunities, and the right resources to take you to a new level.
But in order to go to a higher level, you have to have a higher way of thinking. You can’t stay focused on what’s happening in the natural nor allow worry and fear to fill your thoughts. Remember, God’s ways are higher than our ways. Choose to keep an attitude of faith and expectancy. As you do, you’ll move forward through the open doors of blessing God has prepared for you.
There is a pretty great scripture that goes along with that sentiment in Revelations 3:8 "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee and open door, and no man can shut it."
I have plenty more to say about my first week here and the fun things that are already happening but I will just leave you with this for now. I have been enjoying the Genius feature on my new iPod and rediscovering lots of music I hadn't listened to in a long time. This song cycled through yesterday as I was coming back from a run at the Garden of the Gods and it made me burst into tears. My friend Jeff has teased that someone should make a Felicity-type series about my life and all my criss-crosses of the country. I'm all for it as long as I get a Noel Crane out of the deal...
My sweet mother came out to help me pack/load/drive from MA to CO and she was an amazing help. This will sound so stupid to all of you who are married but we discovered my rear brakes were grinding two days before we left and she just took care of it while I was at work. She was a complete rock star and I don't know how I would have done it all without her. We drove for five days, saw lots of cites, drank lots of Dr. Pepper and finally rolled into the Springs on Monday afternoon. We watched the end of The Way We Were and then slept for about ten lovely hours. It was a good way to begin my time here. My step-dad came to pick her up the next day and I felt just a twinge of what it was like fifteen years ago this month when she dropped little freshman me off at SUU. That's right, I'm 32 years old and I still cried a little when my mom left me in a new city.
I started work on Wednesday. Is it OK if I gush just a little bit? I am pretty sure I've died and gone to job heaven. It is going to be a LOT of work but I am so excited about it. After the Winter Games were over in Salt Lake, all I wanted to do was to keep following the Games. I didn't, and I'm glad I made the career decisions that I did over the last seven years. But I feel incredibly blessed to be back in the Olympic world and doing something that makes me excited to go to work. On Friday we did Habitat for Humanity as a team and then went back to our Director's house and sat on his patio and chatted and I had to keep pinching myself that I get to be part of this team. It's spooky and awesome all at once the way things are working out.
And I guess that's the most important lesson in my whole Beantown Round 2 experience. I had been there just a couple of months when we had a Stake Conference speaker whose message was pretty much, "keep your faith up, things work out." I am finally getting that through my stubborn head. I am realizing that it so rarely works out in the way you hope/plan/expect but it's really often so much better. I found this quote earlier this year when I was doing some studying on Faith. It's from Joel Osteen who is a bit cheesy but I love the idea behind it...
God is ready to present you with new opportunities. He wants to open new doors before you. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world around you, in the economy, the housing industry, or with job reports; God’s Word still remains true. He rewards the people who seek after Him. He’s not the least bit concerned about how He’s going to supply your needs. There is no recession in heaven. He has His eye on you, and He still opens doors that no one can shut! In an instant, He can bring the right people into your life, the right opportunities, and the right resources to take you to a new level.
But in order to go to a higher level, you have to have a higher way of thinking. You can’t stay focused on what’s happening in the natural nor allow worry and fear to fill your thoughts. Remember, God’s ways are higher than our ways. Choose to keep an attitude of faith and expectancy. As you do, you’ll move forward through the open doors of blessing God has prepared for you.
There is a pretty great scripture that goes along with that sentiment in Revelations 3:8 "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee and open door, and no man can shut it."
I have plenty more to say about my first week here and the fun things that are already happening but I will just leave you with this for now. I have been enjoying the Genius feature on my new iPod and rediscovering lots of music I hadn't listened to in a long time. This song cycled through yesterday as I was coming back from a run at the Garden of the Gods and it made me burst into tears. My friend Jeff has teased that someone should make a Felicity-type series about my life and all my criss-crosses of the country. I'm all for it as long as I get a Noel Crane out of the deal...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
My Face Blog
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think internet haters are stupid. You know, the people who love to tell you that they don't do facebook because they prefer "real interaction." The internet and I have been tight for about 15 years now and if anything, it has allowed me to keep people in my life and to turn acquantances into friends in a way that would be tougher without the help of blogs and status updates.
The internet was extraordinarily kind to me last Friday night. My mom and I were on day two of my Boston to Colorado trek and thanks to expedia.com, we ended up getting a good last minute deal on a hotel in Columbus, Ohio. We both hopped onto our computers once we got to our room and I checked in on my friend Beckie who had been on a crazy layover in NYC that day. And what to my wondering eyes did appear but a status update that little Miss Beckie was IN COLUMBUS OHIO. So I called her, and not only was she in Columbus, she was at a hotel one exit away. Twenty minutes later we were enjoying Chinese take out and trying to take a photo that didn't betray all the time in cars and planes between us (we were mostly unsuccessful). I get sort of dizzy when I think of all the things that had to work out to get us to that hotel room.
So thanks Facebook. If you hadn't taught us all to broadcast our activities at all times I might have missed out on some pretty great "real interaction".
The internet was extraordinarily kind to me last Friday night. My mom and I were on day two of my Boston to Colorado trek and thanks to expedia.com, we ended up getting a good last minute deal on a hotel in Columbus, Ohio. We both hopped onto our computers once we got to our room and I checked in on my friend Beckie who had been on a crazy layover in NYC that day. And what to my wondering eyes did appear but a status update that little Miss Beckie was IN COLUMBUS OHIO. So I called her, and not only was she in Columbus, she was at a hotel one exit away. Twenty minutes later we were enjoying Chinese take out and trying to take a photo that didn't betray all the time in cars and planes between us (we were mostly unsuccessful). I get sort of dizzy when I think of all the things that had to work out to get us to that hotel room.
So thanks Facebook. If you hadn't taught us all to broadcast our activities at all times I might have missed out on some pretty great "real interaction".
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Fox in Sox
(this has been in "edit" mode for weeks, waiting for me to download some photos.)
We went to a Red Sox game and the little girl in front of us held up this "U Rock Big Papi" sign when David Ortiz came up to bat-and he scored a home run! It was so cute and totally made me think it was the kind of thing my friend Jane and her Sox loving family would make for a game.
I suppose it's Rockies games from here on out but I'll always be a Sox fan!
We went to a Red Sox game and the little girl in front of us held up this "U Rock Big Papi" sign when David Ortiz came up to bat-and he scored a home run! It was so cute and totally made me think it was the kind of thing my friend Jane and her Sox loving family would make for a game.
I suppose it's Rockies games from here on out but I'll always be a Sox fan!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Advice
Hey maybe don't try to work right up until the night before you have to drive across the country to your new home. Holy crap I'm tired. Thank heavens for this big fluffy hotel bed in Philly.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
Aid
One of my favorite episodes of Sex and the City was on the other night. Carrie's computer crashes and she loses pretty much everything. Her kind of amazing boyfriend Aidan (who I never actually thought she deserved but that is a completely different post) tries to help and buys her a new computer, complete with zip drive (remember those?) for backing everything up.
Instead of being pleased, Carrie gets mad at him and tells him she doesn't need his help and she already gave him keys to her apartment and seriously guy, what more do you want from me??? The scene ends with him storming out after leaving her keys on the table under the receipt for the computer.
She ends up calling him later and telling him that she's just used to taking care of things herself and what if she gets too used to his help and then he goes away. And that's the part where I start crying every time I watch this one because I can hear myself having that very conversation with some poor boy.
So I'm curious, lots of you are married after being single for a long time. How do you let someone else help/fix/solve things without feeling like you are losing your independence?
Instead of being pleased, Carrie gets mad at him and tells him she doesn't need his help and she already gave him keys to her apartment and seriously guy, what more do you want from me??? The scene ends with him storming out after leaving her keys on the table under the receipt for the computer.
She ends up calling him later and telling him that she's just used to taking care of things herself and what if she gets too used to his help and then he goes away. And that's the part where I start crying every time I watch this one because I can hear myself having that very conversation with some poor boy.
So I'm curious, lots of you are married after being single for a long time. How do you let someone else help/fix/solve things without feeling like you are losing your independence?
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