Inspired Again.

Today was my first "official" day with RMVR, meaning I got your typical training today at work. Policies, procedures, meet with different people, etc. Not a bad introduction, although after a few days of work last week and the "retreat" this past weekend I already knew a lot. So far, everything is working out pretty well. All of the interns in the house are really chill people and everyone gets along really well so far, and the same goes for all of the other people at the office. My only real complaint thus far is the use of weed. I knew and expected it to show up more so up here than in Denver, but I hate being around it, and the amount of people at work/in the company who use it is more than I'd like, so I've just had to become really creative at getting around it when it's in use. This past weekend we took a retreat as a company to Breckenridge and stayed in some 7,000 square foot mansion (here: http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/vacation_rentals/24853-chateau-at-trappers-glen-breckenridge-colorado) for free and basically threw a huge party. Everyone was drunk, stoned, etc, except me probably, although I did have more to drink than I ever have (still never been drunk). Needless to say it was a good time, a good way to meet everyone in some way or another, and a great way to kick off my internship. I still can't get over the concept of weekends free after sacrificing my weekends for JFN for so long. It feels unbelievably great to be free of that headache.

With that, I have this weekend free, and... am planning to go hike some more 14ers. Antero and Princeton both look like good bets and the weather looks good also. Right now, I have one friend I'm waiting to hear back from, otherwise I'm planning to probably go solo again, despite my experience last time. This time I'll bring the weight of extra batteries and these two peaks have less vertical gain and seem to be easier to follow as far as trail/ridges go. Also, being two weeks later, more snow should have melted with none new fallen, making route finding easier. But, that aside, I'm hoping my friend is able to come and I won't have to worry about any of this, but I'm planning either way to leave from work Friday and head down to Buena Vista with my eyes on the prize. Wish me luck!

The last two things I want to write about are two epiphanies I feel like I've had in the last week that need to be shared.

The first of these being that I always thought it would be good, but living and working in the mountains is probably one of the greatest things I've ever been blessed to have in my life. I really do have an endless playground in my backyard every day, and hiking or biking are always an option for after work. Last week the company played a round of golf at Vail Golf Club for free after a half day at work. We're going rafting in a few weeks as well as biking (down) Vail pass into the Vail Valley and back to the office. It's awesome to finally work for a company that truly understands a great work/life/play balance and encourages that in everything you do. I never want to work in a city again after being up here and hopefully, if all goes well this summer, I'll be back post graduation for more, and with the company being ranked in the top 500 (I think, or 5000) fastest growing companies in the US this year, there's promise in the future too.

The second thing I'd like to share, going off of that, is the conversation I had with my dad the other night. He is still unhappy that I'm at an unpaid internship, although they are paying for my lodging for the summer. To this point I have just mentioned how it's in Vail, it'll be a lot of fun, the owner personally hired me, etc. But this week I came across an old Emerson quote that put everything into perspective: "I find, where I thought myself poor, there I was most rich." It's really been true for me thus far up here in Vail. You take a job for no pay or little to no pay since I've found out my boss doesn't make much either, but you get to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The views, activities, and opportunities are endless here. Emerson has once again inspired me and allowed me to find myself again. Thank you all for reading, and stayed tuned for a report Sunday night of the weekend ahead!