The snow has finally arrived. I'm pretty excited about it, but I can't say I love running in the cold! The race is next Sunday, so I'm glad I won't feel guilty if I decide to shorten my runs & go inside.

So Saturday.

We went to the Mayan theatre to watch Amreeka. What a sweet and heartbreaking film. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's the story of a Palestinian woman and her son who come to the U.S. just after the invasion of Iraq.

Full-time!

Big news....

The part-time job I've had for a year is going full-time in a couple weeks! I feel relieved to have been given this opportunity & also to have made the decision to stick with it. I'll also be taking off for Flagstaff in two weeks for a conference of the Rocky Mountain Association of Institutional Research.

So I'm pretty satisfied with life lately. I'll be turning 29 next week and we're having people over for some social time on Sunday.

Next weekend is the big race... I've been running 10 miles on the weekends, and that's been going pretty well! It's snowing today, though, so I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get the run in tomorrow. Maybe at the gym?

Last week we watched two films:

The Wackness

I have to say I enjoyed The Wackness - it bought back high school memories in all their excruciating bliss. Set in 1994, there were plenty of technological details added for authenticity - the old Nintendo, the must-have mixed tape. A sort-of coming-of-age story about a drug dealer & a shrink.

(500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer was painful for me. I wanted so much for it to be a different type of story, I guess. The music was top-notch and we could all identify with the emotional roller-coaster that Joseph Gordon-Levitt went through.

---- ----- ---

Overall, this week has been very enjoyable. I got the news about the job and about the conference, so I've been on a bit of a high. I've also got time for leisure reading, finally - what a pleasing shift!

The last couple of weeks have been full of self-doubt and questioning where I am headed. Do I really need to get another master's degree? And if I do want to get another degree, is it really Speech Pathology? Am I just scared to take the plunge into the job market?

Well, no, not exactly. No one can find a job these days. That point hasn't been missed on anyone. But I don't want to put my life on hold due to school. I'm fortunate to actually have a job, but if I can get a full-time job, then I would prefer to move along.

So I guess I'm officially on the hunt for a full-time job... ugh. But I figure that if I devote as much time to job-searching as I have to my coursework... something must pay off, right?

On another topic, I ran 10 miles this weekend! I couldn't believe it. I felt awful at one point, and at another point I realized I was going so slowly that stopping to walk didn't really make any sense. I'm very glad to be at 10 miles. I also bought myself some new running shoes. woo hoo!

That's it for now

The week ended with a very cold Saturday. I went up to Boulder with Laurel to see an E-town recording in the Chautauqua Auditorium. No heating! We met up with her parents and had dinner at Pasta Jay's before the show. We got to see Judy Collins & Shawn Colvin. A fun show, and a good reminder of what life is like in Boulder.

The short week still left me exhausted. My schoolwork is piling up, but I'm still enjoying it. Hearing Science is very challenging and so far it's just been the physics of sound.

I have a problem with my shoes. It seems that almost every pair of "work" shoes I have are wrecking my feet. All the commuting back and forth from class to work and work to class has been exhausting.

We've finally got television again. Bilal and I went to the store today to buy an antenna. I have to admit, I'm very glad to have the television programming back in the house.

The week has been tolerable, nothing special. I took the GRE on Monday and was able to spend some extra time on the Boulder campus. I was surprised at all the memories that came back as I walked through the campus. I was even more surprised that I saw so many young kids on campus... I guess those are college students. I felt pretty old, but in a good way.

Highs of the week

• Running 8.8 miles - I didn't want my Saturday run to end!
• Getting done with the GRE
• Hiking with Jill in Boulder today

Lows of the week

• Trying to pay off my student loans
• Almost falling asleep in class at 9:20 am every morning

Really looking forward to a Labor Day break... I need the extra day to get some ironing done :)

This week has been exhausting. I am glad to report that I've been able to figure out how to use public transportation for ALL of my commuting, which will save a lot of money. However, it involves a lot of walking back and forth between classes, work, bus stops, light rail, etc...

Highs of the week

• Have been keeping up with my running, even though the early morning runs aren't really an option M, W, F.
• Developed a healthy appreciation for Denver public transportation & the amazing chivalry witnessed - most males wait for females to board the bus first!

Lows of the week

• Basic exhaustion by Thursday.
• Having to pack most of my meals in the morning to tote along wherever I go.
• Aching feet!
• Forgetting to print my homework (don't worry, I got it covered)
• Very busy work schedule.

End of Summer...

Summer 2009 went by in a flash.

After dealing with a cancelled flight (from Albuquerque to Denver) and getting re-routed through Phoenix, we arrived a good 4 or 5 hours after we had hoped. With one day of respite (or work, as the case may be), we were off again to meet my dad in Red Wing, CO for camping.

Dad & I climbed California Peak (ugh!) and a good time was had by all. Bilal could have used a warmer sleeping bag, though. We hightailed it back to Denver on Sunday to prepare for a busy week.

This was my first week of classes at Metro State - I'm taking a Physics class, "Sound & Music" and a Speech Communications class, "Language Acquisition." And with that - the summer ended.

I think both classes will be enjoyable, along with the course I'm taking up in Boulder - "Hearing Sciences". These are all pre-requisite courses which I need to complete to start the Master's in Speech Language Pathology next Fall (2010).

The next 16 weeks look to be VERY busy. In addition to training for the half-marathon in October, I will be commuting more than I ever have in my life. I've figured that I can ride the bus between Boulder & Denver but I'll have to drive from my job at DU to my classes at Metro State. Ugh.

But all in all - it feels good to be in classes again and I'm responding to the busier schedule with a lot of lists, packing my lunch at night, ironing all my clothes on the weekend, that kind of stuff.

Touring New Mexico

We're off to Taos today after a brief tour of Los Alamos for Mindy, Julie & Carolyn. Yesterday we took a tour of Santa Fe, something I've never done. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot! There are some museums that I still have not been to, but that might have to wait...

We had lunch at La Fonda & spent the day on the Plaza. A light dinner at L'Osteria and later in the evening we went to Juan Siddi Flamenco and really enjoyed the event. I wasn't able to understand all of the Spanish, but got a bit of it.

Arrival in Albuquerque

I flew down to Albuquerque yesterday on Frontier. Met up with Bilal at the airport (he came in from California) and we had a picnic while we waited for the flight. After a short and bumpy ride, the Albuquerque Sunport was ready to greet us.

Bilal's family decided to come to Santa Fe for a visit - his grandmother, aunt, and mother. We got into the hotel around 11 last night & Dad picked us up from there to transport us up to Los Alamos. Am exhausted this morning but looking forward to a day of sightseeing in Santa Fe. I've been craving New Mexican food for weeks!

I'll certainly enjoy the short vacation in New Mexico before heading back to Denver to start school...

After a quick trip home for the weekend, I am back in Denver and trying desperately to suck out a few more days of summer. Classes at Metro start in less than 2 weeks and I'm cringing at the thought of how busy I'll be.

Working 25 hours a week definitely has its perks. One of them is having a lot of time. Maybe that's the only perk of working 25 hours a week.

I'm supposed to be studying for the GRE which I take in about 3 weeks and instead I've decided to procrastinate by Facebooking & Blogging. yay. I basically have nothing of note to say though...

Looking forward to an evening of wine & a movie with Laurel!

Rain in Denver

My run this morning was refreshingly subdued. This has been a very strange and wet summer and I am able to imagine that I live somewhere in the Northwest but have the assurance that the rain won't last terribly long.

Today I've got the final exam for my psychology class & then will rendevous with Laurel at a wine bar down town. I do love this town.

Bilal left for California on Tuesday and I've been getting tons of sleep... 8.5 hours last night :)

New Apartment

We're moving up in the world... This week has been very long. Bilal & I moved up 3 floors in our apartment building and we've been trying to get all of our belongings stuffed into a much smaller space! I'm glad to have this opportunity to get rid of a bunch of junk, though.

We have all sorts of boxes of books yet to be unpacked, but things are finally coming together. I'm also trying to study for my last test for the online psychology class I'm taking and continue training.

I registered for the Denver half-marathon today! I'm nervous but yesterday I ran longer than I ever have before... 7.3 miles. I'm pretty sure I'll get up to the 13 mile mark by October, as long as I don't get injured.

I'm listening to a radio piece on the death of Michael Jackson - whoa! I didn't get to see the evening news so the first I heard of it was via Facebook. Strange, to get my news from Facebook friends. And I saw that Farrah Fawcett died while I was downtown - the ticker on the side of one of the buildings.

With every death I remember how previous life is and I am working to see the humor in everyday, otherwise mundane activities. A couple funny things happened today:

Yoga in the park. How I love it. Today was one of the first days I've eagerly prepared for a yoga class in months. I've been warring with ambivalence towards other yoga classes in Denver. They are either too slow, or too 'partnery', or too esoteric, or not esoteric enough... haven't been able to find the right fit. But this class - outside, a view of the Washington Park pond. What could be better? 

As the class began, I focused on clearing my mind and feeling all the sore parts of my body. The teacher encouraged us to deepen our focus and our breath. I exhaled deeply and started my first deep inhale. And then, suddenly, a bug flew right into my nose. What a way to start the class! 

The rest of the day was generally agreeable but not especially funny. Until the late afternoon when I was on my way back home after heading downtown for some studying & coffee. The afternoon rainstorm had begun and I dutifully extracted my new red umbrella. A great burst of wind proceeded to turn the lovely red thing inside out. I couldn't help but see the humor in the sorry defeat of the cheap red umbrella. 

The rain did not let up, but my rain jacket managed to keep me fairly dry. I'm convinced that a high quality umbrella is almost impossible to find. And you definitely can't find it for the $10 that I'm willing to spend on one. 

DENVER

Yoga in the park this morning. What a beautiful way to start the day. I have not gone to a yoga class in months and have not attended with any regularity for at least a year and probably more. I've been working to accept that yoga is just not a part of my life at the moment and also to understand why it's lost some attraction.

Today felt like a welcome back and I was glad to be there. Crow pose, camel, warrior I, warrior II... loved every minute of it. 

I've been running more lately and can hardly get my mind off it. I love the high after the run is over and I love the feel of working my muscles. I'm supposed to do a half-marathon in October and am worried that something will happen between now and then that will keep me from getting there. Time will tell, I suppose.

ST. LOUIS

I arrived in St. Louis in the early afternoon on Friday. Terri picked me up and we basically talked non-stop for the rest of the evening. There was a lot of catching up to do. One of us had a new fiance and a wedding coming up... and she had a lot of questions to answer!

We hadn't seen each other in at least two years... and I had never been to St. Louis to see her in her haunts. The humidity just about knocked me out, but I sort of reveled in it for a while. 

My favorite part of the trip was to meet the people I'd seen photos of and to see the setting of all the stories Terri had told us when we were in Albania. 

So it's been a while....

I have just returned to Denver after a weekend visit with some friends from Peace Corps. I went to St. Louis to visit Terri (who lives there) and Sarah (who came in from D.C.). I met Terri's parents and they reminded me that they used to read this blog to keep up with what was going on in Albania. 

The reminiscing made me want to start it up again. My life is nowhere nearly exciting as when I was living in Albania, but I guess it's worth recording somehow. For parents, cousins, friends... myself.  

DENVER

This quarter has been flying by - but hasn't been quite as difficult as I first expected. Well, so far at least! Mostly the snow is ridiculous, our street hasn't been cleared and I don't expect it ever to be. We'll have to wait for the snow to melt the new potholes.

I've got some very bad news, and I'm not quite sure what we'll do yet. Tani's grandmother died yesterday and I really want to find a way for him to be able to go home for a visit...

DENVER

We had an inundation of couches this weekend. Tani's friend offered to give us an old couch and simultaneously my supervisor at work mentioned she was looking for a place to get rid of a loveseat and lounge chair. Lo and behold, we spent the entire weekend moving the furniture in the living room around to try to fit in are new items.

Tani's "Coming to America" hit the 9 month mark on Sunday, so I took him out to celebrate at a restaurant called Cherry Creek Grill which is pretty nice and pretty out of our price range.

I'm still working on my research paper about globalization and its effect on culture, but it's going nowhere. I'm having a hard time getting any thoughts out. They all seem rather too obvious to me.

DENVER

I love the holiday season - maybe it's that people go out of their way to make things beautiful and fun. To fill the world with colors and good cheer. Today we had a cookie exchange at work and we all ate entirely too much sugar.

But what a great way to get to know co-workers better and relax a bit.

Technically, I have been relaxing too much over my 5 week break, but what can you do? I'm supposed to be writing a 20 page research paper, but that is just not really happening at the moment.

I'm too interested in learning about Face Book and updating my long neglected blog...

DENVER

Wow. Almost a month. Haven't written! I'd like to blame it on my busy schedule (which is actually an okay excuse) but really it's just been that I haven't known what to write.

School has been great, we're coming up to midterm season. I'm so busy reading, I don't actually know if I'm retaining the things I'm supposed to be.

I've been trying to make sure that Tani and I get to spend some time together and also do some fun things. Last Wednesday we went to dinner at a Greek restaurant with my friends Jill and Zac. Tani loved it but almost started crying because he is so homesick.

On the 29th of September we went to dinner at Jonathan and Anne's house and had a very nice evening. Anne has this blood pressure machine that we played with all night. Just passing it around taking our blood pressure. Mine is incredibly low. And Tani's has gone down, which is good because he had been worried about it. He even stopped drinking coffee because of it.

Me - I pretty much live on coffee during the week. I'm trying to cut back, but I've been getting not quite as much sleep as I ought to be.

Last night it wasn't because of homework, though. The Denver Art Museum had it's grand opening and is open ALL weekend, 24 /7. So Laurel and I got tickets to go at 3AM. We had a great time, and the people watching was almost as great as the art. Anyway, I got home late and didn't get the quality sleep that most of us desire.

DENVER

Off and Running....

The end of my first week as a graduate student at DU is coming to an end. And how it has flown by. The highlights of the week:

*My Presidential Leadership and US Foreign Policy class - the first day we had a guest speaker. Who might he have been? The former president of Poland, the successor to Lech Walesa and the man who wrote the Polish constitution, Alexsander Kwasniewski.

*Friday morning, 7:30 AM. The French ambassador to the US, Jean-David Levitte, spoke on French Foreign Policy in the Middle East.

I feel slightly like I am slacking this quarter, taking only two International Studies courses, and beginning French. I'm technically taking 14 credit hours, which is full time, but the 4 hours of beginning French will not count towards my degree. Not to worry, however, I have plenty of time to drive myself insane with 18 hour quarters.

Plus, I'm working as an administrative assistant to the Associate Dean at DU, taking care of course e-reserves for the department and assisting the degree directors in their program needs. And working at J.Crew part time.

And still trying to find time to have a semblance of a relationship with my husband! Tough to make our schedules match, that's for sure.

I also now get access to the fitness center on campus, and free yoga classes! That is truly truly a life saver.

My classes are shaping up to be quite fascinating and completely challenging. In some ways I feel I am in way over my head, but then surprise myself by what manages to come out of my mouth. It actually sounds as if I know what I'm talking about! (sometimes)

DENVER

Orientation at the University of Denver Graduate School of International Studies started with a bang yesterday morning. I felt myself becoming more and more tense as the time approached and I couldn't tell why I was so nervous.

After being entirely too short and impatient with life in general, I decided I needed to get outside and take a leisurely walk to campus to get there on time. Walking to campus certainly calmed me down, and I had plenty of time to get to the registration and breakfast.

There was a ballroom full of about 260 students, all of us looking like we didn't really know what was going on, but doing our darnedest to have a good time with it all. I sat with five other girls at a round table.

The day proceeded fairly quickly - the associate dean spoke to us, and then the dean. We had lunch and had a few more presentations to sit though.

In the afternoon I had an interview with the associate dean for a work study position I had applied for. His administrative assistant had arranged the time and informed me not to worry about dressing professionally, as the interview would only take 20 minutes and it would be after the orientation. She also told me that I was one of five he would be interviewing.

The interview went just fine - exactly as I had imagined it - after hearing him speak in the morning. Quick, to the point, no need to waste time. He even had joked about how quickly the classes go by on a quarter system and that he had started speaking more quickly because of that.

In the end, he said he would contact us all that evening and let us know about the decision. I considered that especially fast since the other work-study position I interviewed for required a phone interview, a reference check, a face to face interview, and I still won't know for another week or so!

He ended up offering me the job that evening, as I was walking upstairs after loading some laundry into the machine.

What can I say? This year is off to a thunderous start, and it still hasn't even officially begun yet! I'm eager to begin my classes and to get to know the professors. As part of my new job, I will be meeting all of the Degree Directors and offering my help in their planning and logisitcs for incoming speakers and for gathering materials for their classes.

Tomorrow I work at J.Crew, and I will be letting them know that I unfortunately STILL do not know my final schedule, but I will definitely only be able to work 5-10 hours a week for them.

And another relief, I found out today that the Office of Housing was charging me for on campus living, although I had cancelled that request. I called them and not only did they fix the problem, but they refunded me the $300 deposit, what a relief!

DENVER
Some recent photos (Dad took them)

Sarah in front of Graduate School for International Studies at University of Denver

Tani and Sarah at home

Sarah and Tani at Little India restaurant

DENVER

I really can't believe I've let so much time go by without writing on my blog. The big news, recently - is that Tani got his green card! We left Tuesday, drove up to Minneapolis, had his appointment Wednesday morning and then turned around and drove home. No one should ever spend that much time in a car. It's unhealthy.

I've been working a lot at JCrew and I have been entirely exhausted. I'm not used to being on my feet for such long amounts of time! The good news is that Tani and I have both received our first pay checks and it feels really good to be getting some sort of an income.

We had dinner with two new friends on Friday night. They are both graduate students at DU. One is Albanian, he's been here 10 years! And the other is the roommate of one of my friends from undergraduate school. We ended up having a great time! It felt like our life is actually beginning as it should - with work and play in proper quantities. Still, we'll need some more time to get into a legitimate routine. I can't wait to be able to go to the fitness center on campus!

DENVER

Yesterday was my offical first day working at J.Crew. I can hardly believe that I actually work there, and I have my doubts whether I'll be able to sell clothes. We found out Wednesday that I was officially hired. The same day, in fact, that Tani was offered a job at a Montessori kindergarten in Englewood!

We are both so relieved - he is going to be working full time and will have dental coverage. If he gets his Montessori certification, he will get a raise, too. He'll be working with 3-6 year olds. Today he is going in to meet the teacher he will be working with. Apparantly most of the staff is foreign - Pakistan, India, etc. He's a little wary of being the only male, but we all know that the child care industry is dying for male employees.

DENVER

I'd like to report a possible success. I think I have finally found a place that Tani likes better than Starbucks. We are currently at a coffee shop called Capuvino. I think he fell in love when the employee actually brought our coffee out to us. They also have a free computer to use (20 minute limit) and at night have live music and wine and cheese. Sounds like a yuppie paradise.

Speaking of yuppie paradise, I may have gotten a job at J.Crew at Cherry Creek Mall which is just down the bus line from our apartment. I had an interview yesterday and will have a second interview on Monday. If all goes well, I may soon become an expert in the world of retail clothing sales.

I went to the Financial Aid office yesterday at DU and was trying to make sure all my paperwork was in. Turned out they had all the necessary info (aside from a master promisory note, which basically signs my soul over to my debts). Just kidding.

I've applied for a few work-study positions and I'm really hoping to get some research assistantships, we'll see.

Tani really wants to work at an antique shop or a rug store, although he also says he'd like to work at a school.

Gotta go - bathroom calls.

DENVER

Yes - can you believe it, we are ACTUALLY in DENVER!! Of course, that means nothing as far as whether we are finally settled. There was a bit of a mattress fiasco, but we finally had our mattresses delivered today. All in all, things are moving along fine. Tani and Abaz have been going out trying to sell Abaz's antique things he brought here and I am having a hard time hiding my frustration.

We have great news, however. Tani got his work permit on Saturday. I thought it was junk mail, so it's a good thing I didn't throw it away!

I've been enjoying trying to find my way around Denver, it's a big city, that's for sure. I've never lived in such a big city and I have a hard time trying to fathom the possibility that there are SO many things in one place, and yet SO far away from each other.

I can't wait to learn the bus system and the local hangout spots. Tani and I don't have a phone line, so I'm using a Starbucks conncetion for the interet. We pay $10 for 24 hours. So hopefully we can keep our use to a minimum until school starts and I figure out how to do it from school.

I'm going to have to buy a new laptop - this one is that I have is too big, too heavy and doesn't have the right operating system.

So anyway, that's a quick snipit of life at 2511 South University.

LOS ALAMOS

It's an unfortunate fact of life (or perhaps the life of a blogger using dial up) that when there is the most to record, there is also the least amount of time. In addition to that, my computer had a virus which was causing a lot of trouble, but we've been able to fix her up.

Our time in New Mexico is coming to an end tomorrow. We have been with so many people and in so many places, it's hard to keep my head on straight. I'm sick of driving and I'm ready to be in one place - settled. And even more than that - I'm ready to have a job again!

One of Tani's friends was able to come to the reception we had on Sunday - a 68 year old man who taught Tani a lot about collecting. His travels have been long and tiring and he will be coming up to Denver with us. He plans to go back to Albania in a few days, but it's difficult to plan anything at the moment.

Today we had lunch with an Albanian couple here in Los Alamos and spent hours chatting and laughing. I felt my spirits lifted and my burdens lightened.

I'm also preparing for the possibility of not having much money for a very long time - but first my dear friends in Colorado - my former roommates - are helping me to furnish the apartment with a bed and a futon. After that, Tani and I will be eating our socks.

GRAND FORKS

Tuesday is the big moving day... Tani keeps teasing me because he knows how excited I am to make the move. In fact, the move is going to be a pain, but I'm eager to be in Denver and settled!

Plans for the reception are coming together, much to my surprise as anyone else's. I can't believe it's all happening so soon and there is still so much to do! It's exhilerating and intimidating at the same time.

I'm still plunking away at Madeline Albright's memoir, Madam Secretary. It's quite a hefty book and I wanted to have it finished before we leave on Tuesday, which I don't think will happen.

Today Mom, Tani and I went to the Farmer's Market in Grand Forks. Yesterday we went out to Lake Itasca in Minnesota and appreciated the beautiful weather.

GRAND FORKS

Yesterday I finished reading The Kite Runner. Talk about a tear jerker. If anyone needs the world of Afghanistan to become a little more real, more personal, this is the book to read. On that note, I might also recommend the movie Khandahar.

Tani and I also watched Million Dollar Baby last night. Again, I was in tears.... quite an emotional day, you might say.

We're getting ready to move to Denver in 10 days or so - we've got an apartment close to the University of Denver and I'm so very excited to get down there. Have I already mentioned that?

:)