Ch-ch-ch-changes

Some of you may have already heard this news from me or through the grapevine, but I thought I would put out an official notice.  Erin was offered a job in Denver with the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA), a coalition that serves sexual violence non-profits around the state.  She starts on July 13th.  I don't have work lined up yet, but am working very hard to do that (anyone want to hire an environmental scientist or researcher?).  Currently the plan is to move her down there for the start of her new job while I continue to look for work while working in Bozeman  (assuming I don't find something first).  We're not planning to do this living in different cities thing forever, most likely a couple of months (as necessary).  I would love nothing more than to be able to go down there together.  Anyway, those are the basics.  We're excited to have a change in scenery and start new career challenges.  Busy times ahead.

On the Brink

Erin finished a draft of her professional paper on Monday for her Masters in Public Administration and presented her work today.  She's worked so hard over the past few months. . .years and I know it has been a strain while working full time in a new job.  She did a fantastic job with her presentation and after was given the merit award for outstanding achievement in her program.  I was so proud of her and happy to see her get the well-earned recognition.  She'll be writing all weekend to turn in her final draft and. . . that's it!

Popcorn Schizophrenia

I just stopped by CVS to get some popcorn for the final four and watching a DVD.  There were two brands (Act II and Orville Redenbacher's in case you are curious) and two types for each brand:  Butter Lovers and Diet.  So you either love butter so much that you want to marry it or you want popcorn that makes you remember what butter tasted like before you stopped eating.  I've got to believe there is some commentary on Americans here.  It's like we either over-indulge or deprive ourselves.  Or indulge and then repent (by buying fat free popcorn, I guess).  What ever happened to moderation?

 So most of you are probably thinking at this point that anyone who spends this much thought on popcorn needs a hobby, or a therapist.  But I think there's something in this. . . 

Erin Studies

I wanted to take a picture of a typical domestic scene around here. Erin in the lazy boy surrounded by books with a blanket and computer on her lap, and an obliterated dog toy on the floor. It's a nice night for me but I don't know about her. On one hand she loves to learn and take questions/ideas apart and on the other hand I know many times she would like nothing more than to get home from work and not have a single thing of significance to worry about.

Skiing and Sh**

Erin and I took Friday off to go on a short (overnight) ski trip with some good friends. We went to a place that's kind of in the middle of nowhere in Montana called Showdown. It was really fun. Erin hadn't skied for a few years before we started dating because she broke her leg really bad from a ski accident a few years ago. She is understandably nervous sometimes but has a lot of skill, she's skied a few times now and gets better each time we go. We stayed the night at Bob's Place, a small town motel/bar/diner that is owned and operated by a guy named Tony and his wife Shelly. I guess Bob owned the place before Tony and the name never was changed. Apparently Tony also answers to the name Bob.



On the way home we had a nice little treat. We got caught behind a cattle drive that was pretty cool to watch at first but got old really fast. A couple of the cowboys (I guess one of them was actually a cowgirl) told us to just drive up behind them and they will get out of the way. We were following the red pickup (in the photo) and the guy had absolutely no balls to "push" the cattle around a little. We drove in the middle of the heard for about an hour (not exaggerating) before a dud in a big pickup lost his patience with Mr Red Pickup and came around and led us out of the poopy nightmare (I've never seen so much poop on one road in my life). Anyway, we're back in Bozeman and very happy to have the whole weekend to look forward to.





The picture doesn't quite do justice to the true length of cow. They were spread out for more than a mile.

Random Stuff

I used to love watching Meet the Press on NBC every Sunday morning. I loved Tim Russert and think that David Gregory is kind of a tool, hopefully he'll get the hang of it. It's Sunday morning right now and he's annoying me.

I ran a 10K yesterday. When I came down the stairs this morning I thought I was going to break the hand rail because 90% of my weight was on it. I would recommend running a couple of times prior to entering a 10K. By the way, why does my neck and back hurt almost as much as my legs?

Well, this was an entry to warm up my blogging muscles so I'll cut it short so I don't regret it tomorrow (coming down the stairs). We're doing well. Erin is as busy as ever and seems to be making good progress on her Master's thesis. In 9 days we will have been dating for 3 years. Crazy huh? I'm making a goal to blog again this Spring.

Have You Met My Girlfriend?

Barney is seeing someone but I found the next best thing. Yes, that's Erin in a Dinosaur suit. She was part of Bozeman's annual Sweet Pea Parade for her work (Museum of the Rockies). It was pretty cool but it went by me so fast that she was gone before I had the chance to ridicule her much. It must have worn her out because she taking a nap now. She smells like a jockstrap recycling warehouse. The parade was really cool. I'll throw in a couple of pictures from the animal control people dressed in star trek garb and the "solar bug" that I want to be my next car (really).

"Klingons Castrate with Honor" is my favorite

Don't mind the lady in the picture. I don't know her, just friendly fire.