Firsts

I realize I have become sidetracked by a lot of boring stuff lately.  GRE - bleh.  Moving - meh.  What happened to brunch and hiking?  Exactly.

So let me revert back to my default setting, which is why-Denver-is-the-best-place-to-live-ever.

((Also, I want you to know that as soon as I posted about Lucy making progress, she got grounded.  Yes, in our house bunnies get grounded.  We are very mature and grown-up that way. She stayed out of her cage all night, which meant that we had to stay downstairs with her, which meant that we were up all night.  Not good.  Since she has been scared of people, we don't closely approach her or do anything that might scare her.  Which isn't an effective way of, let's just say, motivating her to get her furry butt back in her cage.  So guess who is on cage rest for the next couple of days while her parents chillax?))

Jailbird

But back to the original point.  Here are some things that are "firsts" for me/us in Denver.  G has lived in the desert southwest and has lived abroad, so these are mostly my firsts, but I'll count him in anyways.

First Time...

Working in a High Rise
And also the first time (since I was in high school) that I am working truly "downtown."

Checking a Minimum of Two Weather Zones
G has to check several weather zones to try to predict his daily commute.  This applies to rain, snow, fire, traffic accidents, major events, road construction, etc.  He thinks it is super fun.

Walking to Work in the Snow
These days are over since we moved into the house, but it was still a first.  Quite an experience.

Sand Dunes
Neither of us had ever seen anything like this!  Which means of course that we need to go to like Morocco immediately.

Hearing Sirens Every Day
This is random, and I guess it is a by-product of working downtown but I hear them all the frikkin time.  ALL THE TIME, the sirens.  The alarming part of it is that I don't really notice them anymore.  I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

Seeing Mountains EVERY SINGLE DAY
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah.

Living Way Above Sea Level
Also, for me it is the first time living in a high desert climate.  Olive oil is my new best friend.  Also, there is a lot of dust.  All over everything inside the house no matter how often we clean (and let's be honest, it's not all that often).  And I sneeze a lot.

The Never-Ending Homeless People
This sounds insensitive, which is not how I mean it.  But.  Because of where I work and a lot of the places we drive to downtown, we are surrounded by many (sometimes aggressive) homeless people.  At stoplights they walk up to my car window.  Or they situate themselves right outside and stare me down.  Walking around, they get right up in my face.  This is a complicated issue, and because of that, I have never blogged about it.  I have given money, I have given food.  Mostly I do not give even an acknowledgement of them (again, it's complicated).  None of these things feels like the 100% right thing to do.  I won't say much more about them, except to say that this is a definite first for me.  I have seen homeless people and gypsies in Europe and bigger American cities like New York and San Francisco, but never in my "hometown."

The Drugs
Again, complicated issue but I'll just say that this is the first place I have lived where I am in close proximity to people openly doing drugs.  It's very weird.  You would think the contact high would loosen me up a bit, but so far?  No dice.  Those close to me are encouraging me to take long walks down 16th street and crossing their fingers behind my back.


My regularly-scheduled whiny posts about boring topics will resume tomorrow.  You're welcome for the break.  :)