September was a huge bummer. I started a new job and that was super exciting...but mostly I was just stressing out. October is when the pieces of the puzzle finally started falling together...and making a truly beautiful picture.
The Absent Roommate
On October 1st, Sam (the new
roommate) and I showed the house to a boy that is in her same AmeriCorps
program. Back when I found out Doug and Alex were leaving, I said “No boys and
no pets” when I began the search. HA! Oh the irony. Kurt (definitely a male…and
definitely the owner of a cat) moved in on October 5th. It is now
January when I write this…and I can confidently say that Sam and I could not
have picked a better person to complete our trio. I’m grateful every day that
things worked out the way they did.
The first night we all lived together, we ate
an entire gluten-free pumpkin pie, split a bottle of wine, and watched Rent, my
all-time-favorite musical that is a movie. These are my kind of people.
Personal Rejuvenation
The beginning of October was incredibly
challenging. Not only did two of my closest friends leave…but something else
entirely was missing. I’m no longer nurturing anything(/one). I know that may seem strange…but
I am a nurturer through and through. I went from being a full-time caretaker
for my AmeriCorps team and living with my boyfriend…to working with students
who don’t care much about getting led or mentored, at all. I had (and still
have) very few friends in Denver, let alone close ones, and it finally hit me—hard.
Luckily, after finally pinpointing what was hurting me, I was able to move past
it. And that’s when I realized that I have all the time in the world to take
care of me! Eventually, the world won’t just revolve around me and my happiness
alone…so I might as well take advantage of this personal strength, freedom, and
opportunity while I can.
The day after this epiphany, I had the
perfect day: I started off at yoga, went to a coffee shop for coffee,
breakfast, and journaling, started building up my winter wardrobe, got my nails
done, read a book, went on a wonderful walk around a labyrinth by my house, and
cooked my favorite stew. I have never felt so peaceful. It is amazing how far a
little acceptance can take you…
New Vocal Students
I have taken on two sisters for voice lessons,
10 and 14. They love Disney songs and musicals and they’re adorable. This was a
match made in heaven. They feel like the little sisters I never had.
Yet Another Lockdown
Reminder: I work in an inner-city Denver
school.
This is the second lockdown in 2 months. And
this one actually freaked me out, a lot. I was heading out of the school to go
to yoga right when they called it. I bolted back to Mi Casa since that was the
closest classroom. I witnessed my boss pulling in three students from the hall
and we all scurried to the window-less kitchen. We were locked down for
45-minutes and we, unfortunately, did not have time to grab the
radio/walkie-talkie that every classroom has. We were completely oblivious to
what was going on in the school. After the lockdown was over, I was seriously
shaken up.
The next day, we were informed that there was
a rumor that a student had a BB gun on campus. The lockdown was precautionary…but
still, this was a threat within the building. My stomach is still in knots when
I think about it.
Weekend in New York
Two days after Doug headed back to New York,
we booked me a flight out for the 4-day weekend that was coming up for North
High School. Half-way through October, I was headed to see my now-long-distance-boyfriend
for the first time in a month. And let me tell you, it was the perfect weekend.
Saturday: While we were waiting to check into our
Brooklyn Airbnb, we went to a gluten free bakery and got a piece of pumpkin
cake…and we ate the most delicious Thai food I’ve ever had. I got the red curry
with squash and somehow it was spicy and sweet simultaneously—incredible! That night, we got
dinner and went back to the bnb to play charades and taboo, just the two of us.
Sunday: On our way into Manhattan the next day, I
witnessed something beautiful. I will indulge a bit further in “The Simple
Serendipities” section below. Just trust that it was good.
Once in Manhattan, we found this 100%
gluten-free restaurant called “Risotteria”. Doug and I split a huge plate of
pork shoulder risotto and a gluten-free prosciutto Panini. They brought by
gluten-free breadsticks every time the bowl was emptied…and we kept them plenty
busy. I was in gluten-free heaven! After lunch, we met up with one of Doug’s
closest friends and his girlfriend at the Highline, the renovated section of
Manhattan Railroad that is now a botanical gardens and beautiful little walk.
Eventually, we agreed on going to a place called Keste Pizza where I fell
immediately in love. I got their gluten-free pistachio pesto pizza. Yum.
Afterward, we all got drinks at the Blind Tiger and once Doug’s friends
departed, we found an awesome cocktail bar called Analogue. One of the drinks
had plum red wine vinegar in it…so interesting.
Monday: I KNOW I SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THIS…but…I ate
New York bagels on this morning. I had to! You must understand my predicament.
I’ve never had New York bagels and everyone everywhere tries to remake these
mouth-watering inner tubes of excellence and I was THERE! In New York! This was
my first opportunity…and I promised it would also be my last gluten-indulgence.
So Doug and I split the following round pieces of heaven:
1.
Cinnamon
raison bagel with pumpkin cream cheese
2.
Everything bagel
with scallion cream cheese
3.
Whole wheat
bagel with honey Nutella cream cheese
NO REGRETS…until the next day. Oh gosh they
were so good.
Tuesday: Doug and I stopped at a coffee shop before the airport and
played card games in the last moments of being together in 2014 (at least that’s
what we thought at the time). It was fun and bittersweet. We really did have an
incredible weekend together.
Halloween Things
I had the awesome opportunity to pass out
candy to all the neighborhood kids at Downpours Coffee for Tennyson Trick-or-Treat Street 2014. I dressed up
as Pippy Longstocking and had a smile plastered to my face for four hours
straight. I loved every second of it.
The ladies of Mi Casa and I all decided to be
punny this Halloween. Naturally, we dressed up as the Spice Girls: Cinnamon,
Cardamom, Chili Powder, and Curry. We also may or may not have made up a dance
to go to the Spice Girl’s hit, “Spice Up Your Life”. May or may not…
My roommates and I have doppelgangers: Velma,
Daphne, and Shaggy from Scooby Doo. So, yeah, that happened, too.
The Simple Serendipities
Especially in the chaos of this Denver
experiment, I need to look at the bright side of things. Luckily these things
happen every single day. I haven’t had to look too hard.
This Little
Light of Mine. So for starters, if you know me,
you know I’m super-duper-extra emotional and this story will not shock you at
all. If you don’t know me that well, I think this shines a lot of light on the
kind of person I am.
Doug and I were sitting on the Subway into Manhattan
when three men got on our train car. They sang “This Little Light of Mine” and
collected passengers’ change for their performance. After a few train stops,
but no pause in singing, they headed to the door. As one of the singing trio
was walking off the train car, he saw the homeless woman with her cardboard
sign and paper cup a few seats down from us. He took every penny that was put
into his cup and placed it into hers.
I cried on a Subway in New York City. Beauty
really is everywhere.
AmeriCorps
Reunion. JOE!! J
One of my close friends from AmeriCorps booked Halloween weekend in Denver. We
spent the night laughing, drinking, and being merry. Not to mention, we were at
the Ritz.
Network
Connections. One of my voice students’ parents
have offered me the opportunity to help with some marketing for the Child
Psychiatry firm they run. Sure, okay! I can do that!
This whole Denver thing is starting to shape up.
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