Good mornings.

Flatiron Dog Walk

     Samson and I are getting plenty of nature walks, though, which is great. It's also nice getting to sleep in most mornings (when he lets me).

     

Don't Listen to the Doubters

... especially not the ones inside your head.

Purposeful

     I struggle throughout the day with the purposefulness of my tasks. Most of this stems from my doubt and ignorance about the future. Will this be a profitable venture? Is this actually going to get me where I want to be? It's really hard to be creative when I'm thinking that way, mostly because creative work is so rarely lucrative.
     The professional world, though, is not so different from the creative world. To profit from your creativity, the main requisite is to have already achieved some measure of success and recognition. Likewise, most employers want to know that you've already been working in the field that you are trying to break into. It's a paradox, and in this chapter I'm looking for that elusive formula for breaking into it.
     I found it once, and ended up working in 'ministry,' which appeared to be shaping up as my ticket at the time. How many ways can religion derail a person? I'm still counting, it feels like.
     In the meantime, I try to focus on the things Jesus tells me to focus on. This doesn't include what's going to happen tomorrow, or even how I'll provide for myself. My supposed work ethic and independence (read: desire for control) fight against that. Some people in my life fight against that. And I still am not convinced it's right.
     But what else am I gonna do?
     In the meantime, I actually enjoy living somewhere cold.

Digs

Wow, it's been awhile. A lot's happened.

Suffice to say, I'm in a new apartment and slowly unpacking. Still trying to get my photography business off the ground. I got a little smarter this time around, and I've been contacting wedding planners trying to partner up. I've had a couple really good meetings, so I'm hoping it will lead to some real work.

I'm learning a lot about faith right now. Well, I'm not learning a lot of new facts about faith, I'm just being worked on in that area. I'm on the faith treadmill. I often get into these situations that really make me wonder if I'm being wise at all--even though I'm doing everything I know to do to be wise (keeping wise counsel, praying, etc.).

In the meantime, I'm really thankful for my new place, my puppy, and my supportive parents. So much is going on with the other people in my life, this stuff is only just mine, and everyone seems to have more than their share of trouble. I'm thankful that we are going through our separate difficulties together.

The Hunt is On

I must find work, but what shall I do? It's hard being an adult but only having kid-sized jobs available to me at this point. Even with a B.A., there's not much to do, at least in the short term, but look for entry level stuff.

Hopefully the photography will take off better here than it did in Florida. There are so many more great places to shoot in this area.

I'm Fall's newest fan

Living in Florida for 9 years really changes the way you think. Every Autumn, Facebook would be full of postings by people: "OMG! It's #Fall!!!!" and all I can think is, "Who cares?"

In Florida, Fall is just the season where you keep thinking how hot it still is, and how crazy it is that the Holidays are just around the corner. Nothing changes color and the only real weather shift is the absence of your mid-afternoon downpours. After a while, it's hard to understand why people go nuts over leaves being something besides green.

But, being around it now, I totally get it. The mild chill in the air, the vibrant oranges and yellows and reds, and yes, the Pumpkin Spice Everything. It all comes together to make something pretty freaking amazing.

And now I'm gonna be annoying people on social media with my freak-outs over Fall.

Denver Zoo

Checked out the Denver Zoo the other day, and really enjoyed it! The exhibits allow for wonderful up-close views of most of the animals. The elephant section of the park even had a lot of "Anandapur" style theming (like Asia at Disney's Animal Kingdom). It was strange to walk around in a place like that, being so uncrowded and cool in the morning!

There's a great selection of animals, too. The seal & sea lion exhibit isn't quite up to the standard of Fresno's Chaffee Zoo, but overall they have a broader display of animals.

Exploring Colorado

Got up early yesterday and drove down to see Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs. Definitely want to go again and spend more time hiking and looking around. I can still feel how the altitude change affects my stamina, though. Plus a storm was moving in and I thought it best to move along (there ended up being golf-ball sized hail, and I saw snow in a couple places on the way home).

Anyway, it was really cool to see climbers up on the rocks, and the climate in the early part of the day was just perfect. I hiked around for more than two hours with all my camera equipment on my back, and barely broke a sweat. Just awesome.

The red rocks reminded me of Big Thunder Mountain at Disney, and I realized that today I'm exploring the places I was only pretending to be at before. Really exciting... and less crowded!

See an album with more images here. The man and woman climbers you see in a couple of the photos, I was able to run into later on when they were on the ground. They're from New Zealand, and I was able to get their email so I could send them the photos.

A New Chapter Begins!

Here's where you'll find personal thoughts and updates from me as I set off on a whole new chapter of my life. As I write this, I have one week left to live in Orlando, Florida, which I am about to leave for Colorado. So much has happened so far, and I have no idea what the future holds. Keep looking back here if you want to find out with me.