as of late.

I have no idea where to begin to tell you stories of my life at the Noble. It's this dorm style hotel in the middle of Wyoming, half a block from my office. I seem to be perpetually paranoid about revealing too much personal information about other people on here, but in reality, it's the people here in Wyoming who fascinate me most. So it's some sort of dishonest injustice if I don't share these interesting characters with you.

There's a little family of people here at the noble. People come and go, and there's those who have been here for 6 months because it's a cheap place to live in town, there are branch directors from all over the world who are here for a few weeks for meetings at HQ (where I work, a block away), there are instructors coming in and out all the time on an inconsistent rotating basis and they stay for a few days before/after a course or perhaps longer between courses. They bring stories of climbing and fishing in Patagonia, Kayaking in Mexico, and mountaineering in Alaska. We all connect around normal meal times, most of us return for lunch and are around in the evenings. This week there was a Uchre tournament as well as a showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail with 10 of us packed into a small room, laughing at it's absurdity.

And then, thrown in the mix, are the interns. I seem to have attached most to the interns. We all started around the same time, so we have that newbie bond. We share meals and visit eachother at house sitting gigs, usually with nice kitchens, delicious meals and good movies. Jared and Sandy and I were in a photo shoot a while back for the nutrition book. Final photo yet to be determined, and I almost hope we find a different photo. Lisa and I bonded over Iowa connections, design projects, and our tendency to take on motherly roles. Dan and I (and Lindsey before she left) founded the Housesitters Union of Lander. It was a semi-joke. Got us some nice places to stay and interesting pets to care for, but I think I'm done housesitting in any significant capacity. I predict Dan will probably be able to housesit for the next year before getting sick of it. I, however, am ready to find my own space. I have a few leads to follow up on this weekend.

Yesterday I bought a bunch of stuff at the yard sale at the Rocky Mtn Branch. It was quite the place to be. I bought a brand new mountain hardware windstopper jacket (!), a used sleeping bag (!), a few smaller bags (some were in the free bin!) a few brand new tops (north face, patagonia), some new gaiters, a hat, some liner gloves, and very-used climbing shoes. Let's just say they were all a steal of a deal. I asked my friend Gwen if she wanted some $2 climbing shoes, and then gathered a small backpacking stove, a backpack, and the shoes, all for $8. She called me back, ecstatic.

I'm actually in town this weekend. The weekend before last I went home for a quick weekend of Easter with my parents, connecting with some girlfriends, and grabbing some more boxes of stuff. I still had to work on canceling a few things like cable and making sure my roomies are grabbing the utility bill. Saturday's breakfast at the Hungry Bear with Erin and Rachel, and picking up my adorable grandmother for Easter at my parents' house were perhaps my favorite parts.

Last weekend I was in Jackson, for the worst press check I've ever been to (let's just say there were images to adjust and they had to restart the entire pre-press process, make plates, get the press up and running before we could print). But it wasn't a completely horrid experience and Joanne and Cara and Meredith and I went out for Sushi afterward. Overall I enjoyed my time in Jackson and I'm excited to be able to go more next winter. Our hotel was just around the corner from a great cafe where we ate breakfast while watching the Hill Climb out the large picture windows. We looked up to the mountain to see snowmobiles shooting up the mountain, and as they reached their max we'd see them fall, and little dots came out to catch them. The little dots, were, of course, people waiting on the edges of the trees. The people I was with were skiing but I was not, and we ended up just going to Teton Village for a half day, so I walked around a bit, and ended up at a nice lodge with a fire, my journal, and a few conversations. I met up with Intern Lauren and we grabbed some coffee and talked for a while before gathering with the skier friends and friends of friends. After Moose Drool and some food with Nadine and Joanne at the Mangey Moose, a bunch of us headed out to the main parking lot where Michael Franti and Spearhead played a pretty great show.