Shhh, don't tell

Maybe you saw photos of the blizzard in Denver this week? Well this is what it looks like 60 miles south.


Guys, this place is awesome.

Dance Dance Revolution

I can't fully express the depth of my obsession with this song back in the fall of 2004. Then the video came out and my love for it grew even deeper. Everything about it is so charming, it was the perfect thing to roll through my iPod on a clear, cold Friday.

Hey Thanks!

Dear Married People:

You don't.

KC: so FNL was awesome, i'm making my favorite spaghetti, listening to Otis and anticipating a funny 30 rock in half an hour. Does a cold winter night get any better????
26 minutes ago · Comment · Like

DD :A husband for ya would make it better, right? ;)
23 minutes ago · Delete

Thanks,

Single People

Why the Face?

I have a slightly broken heart tonight. Season Four of Friday Night Lights premiered tonight and I don't know a soul with Direct TV. It's hard for me to be rational about how much I love this show. I rewatched the first season this summer after forcing my friend Traci to watch the pilot with me one night (her Facebook status today? FNL. I'm good.) and I just cried my way through it. The writing is great, the acting is fabulous and it's just so gosh darn pretty to watch.

My rock star friend Rudy is feverishly searching for places to download the thing but I'll admit, when I found just this clip of the credits on YouTube, I might have gotten a tear.

Dry

You know how sometimes you go to YouTube to look up an old Boyz II Men song your friend Natalie had as her gchat tag today and then 25 minutes later you are walking through the back catalogue of New Edition? What did we all do before the internet?

The enabling is disabled on YouTube but this song is just killing me right now. I got New Edition's Greatest Hits from one of those Columbia "get 12 free now and buy one someday" specials when I was a senior in high school. When my parents let me paint my bedroom (my OWN bedroom) I listened to that and He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince over and over for days on end. A year later my friend Brandon, who I had an insane crush on at the time, came over to my college apartment and declared those two the only things worth listening to in my room.

So tonight I'm watching these old videos (wow, I know every word to "Poison"-miss her kiss her love her) and loving my funny little suburban Salt Lake 17 year old self and her R&B phase.

Bloom

It's almost November and I've been in Colorado for a little over a month now. That's not very long but somehow it feels like I left Boston about a million years ago.

I'm sitting in the living room watching snow fall outside the window and it's making me laugh. Over Christmas last year my sister and I were sitting her apartment during one of the many nasty storms Utah got over the holidays and she said something about how much she loved to watch snow fall. I was jealous that my time in Boston was turning me into a snow hater. Maybe it was that I always got jolted from the endless sunshine of Huntington Beach to gloom and doom on the East Coast but I just loathed the winter and all it's evidence. It was dark and cold and it just seemed to go on and on and on.

So it's funny to me that here I am, sitting in the living room watching the snow fall and listening to Patty Griffin, and everything feels soft and peaceful.

Which brings me to something I've been thinking about a lot this last month. You know that generally good advice that we choose the way we react to things and that it's up to us to make the best of whatever is going on in life? Well I generally believe that. I also generally believe that sometimes there are points in our lives that things just flat out suck. And we can choose not to let it swallow us whole and we can choose to have faith that it will get better and we can even choose to try to slap a smile on our Facebook photos while it's happening. But there is a big difference between grinning and bearing it and truly grinning. I felt that in the Spring when I switched from the job that was sucking my soul to the one that was actually pretty great. It was like that moment when the cold medicine kicks in and you think-why didn't I take that an hour ago?? Multiply that by like a thousand and that's how I've felt the last six weeks. Like the first gulp of air when you've been holding your breath underwater. Even the last six months in Boston I kept thinking that I was so lucky to have been able to change jobs and I was doing something fun and learning this new sport-but I lived in a city I was done with and knew that I didn't want to be with the company long term. I did all the things I would have advised a friend to do in the same situation-I bought cookbooks and hung out with friends and wrote and joined a gym that made me more excited to go, I finally got my bike ready to really ride. I chose to be happy. But despite all my efforts, life was kind of in a holding pattern there for awhile. The day I got an email from an old friend saying, "hey I think there is a good opening at the USOC, do you want to give it a try?" my first thought was-I'm only five months into this new job, would this be me just running away? Fortunately that thought was trumped by one of my life mottos which is "new opportunities are worth exploring." (although that is the same motto that made me tell that recruiter that yes, although I explicitly said don't ever come to me with a job on the East Coast, especially not Boston, I would LOVE to apply for a job at a tiny little brand with no money that I will hate! So the system is not foolproof I suppose!)

So I explored and two months later I'm happier then I can remember being in years. And it's not because this place is perfect-Colorado Springs is SMALL, and there are no single mormon boys to speak of and I have to drive to Denver if I want to shop the J. Crew sale rack or go to a show. But my job makes me happy every single day and yesterday I rode my bike on mountain roads and a guy who trains Olympians is writing a weight lifting program for me. Life is good. Really, really good.

So the fact is that two years ago I was feeling restless and bored even though I had a good job and a beach in my front yard. It took some freaky twists but now here I am in a city that has effortlessly hooked me at a company I didn't even dare put on my dream lists back then because it seemed so out of reach. It's ok once in awhile to choose to be unhappy or bored or sad. My firm belief is that feeling that way is no way to live, but sometimes it's the only thing that will jolt us into action. I think we can Pollyanna ourselves into staying in something that just isn't good enough-a job or a relationship or a habit. Nobody tells you to ignore your body when it says it's thirsty or tired, why ignore your heart when it says it's unhappy?

I'll get off my soap box now-the snow is still going strong and I have to find my friend Damian's obscenely good hot chocolate recipe. I do love a snowy day!

Actor Announcement

I love it when my friends do cool things because then I get to brag about how I have cool friends.

This is my friend Dave. He is terribly talented both in front of and behind the camera. Look at him tell off that impatient cake cutter! **sidenote, these Intel commercials are really funny. Great campaign.

Congrats Dave!!!

Danger Zone

I took a carload of Air Force Academy cadets back to campus after church yesterday. Please note that if you are taking people back to a military installation you should NOT squeeze four passengers into a three seatbelt backseat. The guards tend to frown on such a situation.

Fortunately I was able to do some shuffling and got all the little freshman safely to the dorms and then stopped to check out the B-52 on display on campus.

My pops was in the Air Force before I was born so I called him and he told me a little about the history of the B-52. This particulary plane is Diamond Lil and she flew from 1957 to 1983. She is absolutely massive-hard to tell in a photo just how big the thing is. And if you are a person who is fascinated by the things humans have invented-the fact that such a thing can FLY kind of blows my mind.

A nice little Sunday afternoon field trip.

Calling all Teachers/PTA Moms

One of the really fun parts of my job is that I will be running Team Processing before the Games in February. Every single US athlete will come through our center to pick up all the fun stuff they get for making the team. They'll spend a few hours trying on clothes, getting their Opening Ceremonies outfit altered, getting their "yearbook" photos taken and sending all the clothes they brought with them home because they just got super hooked up.

We thought it would be really fun to get school kids across the country to write "Good Luck" cards and posters to the athletes that we can post in the Team Processing venue. If you are a teacher or a parent who would like to have your child's class participate, you can leave your contact info in a comment or email me at katieclifford(at)gmail(dot)com. I'd love to have you guys play with us!

She's a Libra

I have a "I'm 33 today and trying not to freak out about it" post that I will get to later this week. But today I have to give a little blog love to my mother. She gave birth to me 33 years ago and continues to have to do motherly duties far beyond what I'm sure she ever imagined.

My last three months at PUMA I was working on a big exciting endorsement deal and my mom had heard me talk A LOT about the kid we were signing and how much I had enjoyed working with his family on the deal. He's a great golfer and you'll definitely be hearing his name now that he has gone pro. He's also a smart, fun, down to earth guy with a tight, supportive family. They were really good people and although I was beyond thrilled when my current job opportunity came along, leaving just as we were finishing up getting this kid signed was disappointing.

My sneaky mother knew that a friend of mine would be taking the photos at the official signing annoucement after I had left so she tracked him down and got his help doing this:



A framed version of it showed up at my house last night and pretty much made my whole month. Thanks momma bird.

p.s. These little weasels appeared in my inbox this morning. So yeah, good birthday.

It Takes Two

My nephews got a rare chance to hang out this weekend. I can't believe I share some genes with these little stinks! If I ever have any kids I hope they end up this adorable.

Closer

I think maybe my brain is too full of new things and it's inhibiting my ability to write anything worthwhile! It dawned on me the other day that while this is my fifth move in seven years, it's been a long time since a move meant learning a new city and making new friends. It's somewhat exhausting. And exciting too. Work has been really wonderful but there is a lot to process there as well. So I have a lot I want to write about but I'm having trouble getting it out. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I heard a song this weekend that I've had on repeat pretty much ever since. The lyrics are pretty darn sweet.

No Sleep 'til Brooklyn

I've been in Vancouver all week on a site visit for the Games. They are 128 days away. I'm exhausted. But I am having SO MUCH FUN AT MY NEW JOB.

More to come.

One

I had lunch today with two ridiculously cool girls from the Marketing department at work. They were in town from our New York office. One just moved from San Francisco and the other one has been in New York for 11 years. The three of us are all in our thirties and all have pretty cool career experiences under our belts. Between us we have lived in three of the biggest cities in the country. What do you think we talked about?

Well work. Obviously. And we are all new to the Committee so we talked about our old jobs and what we like to do in our spare time.

But of course we talked about boys. And dating. And I was looking at these two really cute, confident, successful women and I thought to myself-men are stupid.

Just kidding! I don't think men are stupid. I just think that I'm about to turn 33 and it's comforting to know that I'm in pretty fabulous single girl company.

Elevation

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.

Lion Tamer

This song came up on my iPod tonight. I forgot how much I adore it.

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.

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 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".

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!