rollin' rollin' rollin'

It's been a pretty great weekend. On Friday, Rick organized some roller skating. Wendy and Tawnya came, too, and we rocked Skyline Skate with our 30somthing powers of awesome. This time, I was almost able to do the crossover on the corners. I also got to practice my agility as I avoided running over tiny children just learning to skate, as well as some pre-teen girls who inexplicably sat down in a circle right in the middle of the floor. Man, I miss the Skate Inn and its army of whistle-bearing floor patrollers. They really kept things organized. Skyline is kind of a CF, with no adherence to skate etiquette at all.

Then on Saturday, skate-or-die weekend continued with a visit from the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls, who came to Laramie for an exhibition bout, the Contenders v. the Others. It was a little disappointing that so few people came out, but it was really fun. We screamed as loud as we could for our chosen team, the Others (in black). I hadn't ever seen the RMRGs before, but quickly picked out some gals to root for.



Of course I could not resist getting my picture taken with a favorite rollergirl, Annia LateHer, after the match was over.



I'm planning to go to next week's bout in Denver, too. Laramie people, are you ready to caravan down?

Vic is in the house!

My birthday came and went and it was fun. I've been a terrible blogger lately and might or might not get back to those stories.

But the big news is that my pal Vic is in Laramie! I've known Vic since middle school, but I think we really became friends in 9th or 10th grade math class. Also, he made me laugh every day in College Prep English. It's been way too long since we lived in the same state and about a year since we've been able to hang out. He's on a western supertrip; Missoula to Seattle to Denver to Laramie. I'm glad he worked me into the big adventure. We have some fun stuff planned for the next coupe of days before he heads back to Montana.

I love it when people come to visit me in Laramie! It's not exactly in the neighborhood of anything else, so it can take some convincing. I need to figure out some fun stuff to do while Vic's here, but I'm not too worried. He has a lot of interests, so he's pretty easy to entertain.

Expect pictures!

more firsts

I was just saying that I've done a lot of things for the first time lately. Friday it was going to Saratoga to the hot springs. Rick and I went over after work, and it was a nice way to end the week. We ran into some friends of his while we were soaking (boiling) in the pool, which was a pleasant surprise. The water was hotter than I expected, but it didn't make me as tired as I thought it would. As a bonus, long car trips are fun, especially with a friend. I like the time and space to just talk about what's going on, both in our lives and in our heads.

Another first for me this weekend was snowshoeing. I don't do a lot of outdoorsy stuff because I don't know what I'm doing and I don't have the right clothes or any gear. But Melissa convinced me to give it a shot this afternoon, and I'm glad I did. She and the others were skiing while I was on snowshoes and it worked out nicely. I always underestimate myself, thinking I'll never be able to keep up or that I'll suck at that kind of thing. It felt great to be outside in the snow for a couple of hours, working hard enough that I was pretty hot and sweaty. I'm pleasantly sore in a couple of places now and wondering if I'll manage to get out and try it all again soon. I hope so.

"it's complicated"

That's one of the Facebook relationship statuses available. The other day, I decided that maybe it really isn't that complicated, so I changed my status, forgetting that profile changes get published in the news feed. Friends have contacted me, wondering what's up. The answer is: nothing new. I'm just trying to describe things as they are, rather than how I'd been confusing them.

Life in general is busy and uncertain right now. I've been wanting to move closer to work for a while, and thought I had a plan and a roommate in place a few days ago. After some thought, and more honest assessment of the realities, that's not going to work out. It's cool. I'll stay put for a little longer and keep looking for a new place on my own. I felt a considerable amount of relief once we reached the decision not to move.

All sorts of plans I had are falling through, which is frustrating and disappointing, but I'll manage. I have to reassess what's important to me and go from there. I've been thinking a lot about my life here in this town that I'm starting to get to know. It's weird and isolated, and I sometimes want nothing more than to just go back to the coast, where it's safe and known and filled with friends and family. But sometimes it feels like home here, one I've actually made for myself. It's not perfect, but I'm trying.