Almost Ski Season

I caught up on everything just in time to leave for Japan! I’ll be writing my Cooltiques blog, www.cooltiques.blogspot.com until I come home, just in time for Vail’s opening. Then, I’ll get to write about epic Colorado powder days - I can't wait!

SWAMPED!

I have never been so swamped in my entire life! There are simply not enough hours in the day to get everything done, so how I’m finding time to update my blog is a mystery. Well, maybe less a mystery than just a great procrastination tool.

But, blogging is part of what I do now, so if I don’t get it done, it hangs over my head just like any other project on my list. I would also like to start my copywriting blog and update my website and my listing on Media Bistro, but those things will definitely have to wait . . . until I’ve completed a few hundred more SEO product descriptions for one client, created new web content for another, written copy for an interactive map for somebody else, finished formatting and editing a technical manual, followed up with a few other clients who have things on the burner, and finally created thoughtful copy for a charitable foundation’s website (my pro bono project).

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten my head to spin uncontrollably, I am signing off and not promising anything to this blog until everything else is off my plate.

Quick Catch Up

For someone who claims to be as addicted to blogging as I do, I sure haven’t done a very good job of feeding my addiction recently. So, let’s see, quick catch up . . .

I moved back to Vail! Well, actually Edwards. And so far I love it. It’s much more livable than Vail with lots of shops and restaurants for us normal people. There’s also a much greater sense of community here, thanks to all the year-round residents.

And as much as I would love to just park it here and not leave for a while, my second love, CU football, (first love, skiing) keeps dragging me back to Boulder and various other places. A few weekends ago, I went to Denver to watch the Buffs play CSU, and win! Last weekend I went to Phoenix to watch the Buffs play ASU, and lose. ☹ Still bummed, but what can you do? It’s in my blood, so I keep going back to watch them get stomped. Which is probably what I’ll be doing this weekend when I head to Folsom Field to see the Buffs challenge Florida State.

Up here in the Vail Valley, I have been really busy getting settled in my new place, working and prepping for ski season. I am actually taking a ski conditioning class with my fellow ski instructors and I love it! It’s a super hard workout, but I think it will really whip me into shape.

So, between moving, catching up on work and settling back into the mountain life, you can see why it has been so hard for me to keep up with my blog. That said, my future entries will hopefully be more exciting, not just a rundown of my recent activities. How boring, but I needed to fill in the gaps.

Until next time, Go Buffs and Think Snow!

Happy Hour Boulder

I did something today that I haven’t done in a long time – write a Happy Hour Boulder newsletter. When we first launched the site, I was so good about communicating happy hour news on a weekly basis. But, as the luster of new business ownership faded, the parties ended, and the work set in, I began to lose motivation. Over the winter, skiing took precedence, as did work that actually paid, but I still took care of happy hour business as much as possible. By the time summer rolled around, though, and I left for Japan, happy hour news really fell by the wayside, and I was totally neglectful insofar as promoting our brilliant business idea.

On the upside, I diligently maintained the database. So even if anxious happy hour goers weren’t getting a weekly buzz from me, they could still count on the site to be complete and updated.

But, I’ve renewed my happy hour spirit with the idea of featuring a weekly cocktail in our newsletter and creating a happy hour blog (coming soon).

I plan on spending some time over the next few weeks rejuvenating our original plan by reestablishing relationships with different happy hours and the users of our site. We’re planning a one-year celebration and some cool ways to get businesses psyched on keeping their information updated. And, if there’s time, maybe we’ll even hit a happy hour or two. ☺

What time zone am I in?

I think that this is the latest I have slept in since I was in college. I got in from Boston last night at about midnight, and didn’t set an alarm since I knew my body needed extra sleep, what with my weekend trip on top of my return from Japan. So, when I finally woke up this morning and looked at my clock, I immediately jumped out of bed and set about brewing coffee, eating breakfast, catching up on phone calls and emails. Now, at 2 p.m., I am still not dressed, but at least to the outside world, I appear to be marginally productive.

Anyhow, the weekend was fantastic. I took the red-eye to Boston on Friday night, which put me in Cambridge at about 7 a.m. The hotel staff at the Royal Sonesta was nice enough to let me check in. So, I slept until about noon and then ran across the street to the mall to get a headband and a wrap for my outfit. From there, I hopped a cab to Harvard Square (I am trying to muster academic inspiration for the grad school application process), which was interrupted midway through by a phone call from Sarah. She was getting ready and invited me to hang out in her room so we could catch up a little. So, back to the hotel it was for pre-wedding giggles and sips of champagne.

Now, Sarah is one of my good friends from college. But, we met second semester of her senior year (my sophomore year), after which she moved back to Boston. So, we don’t really have any mutual friends, which is how I found myself at her wedding knowing absolutely no one. Of course, it was totally fine – in fact, I made tons of new friends in her fiancé’s (now husband’s) crowd and connected with friends of hers that I’ve always heard about and never met. So fun!

The wedding celebration commenced with a cocktail reception an hour before the ceremony. I was an especially big fan of the margarita bar, which I think is the most brilliant wedding fixture I’ve ever seen – several of the engaged couples I met found it totally inspiring.

After that, Sarah and Jason got married in a traditional Jewish ceremony. Their chupah was lovely and the ketubah artwork featured scenes of the outdoorsy things that Sarah and Jason love. Their reception also included many Jewish traditions, such as the dancing of hora and mizinke.

After the wedding, about 15 of us continued the party in Sarah and Jason’s bridal suite – romantic, right? I headed to bed at about 2 p.m., shortly after which I’m told everyone else was thrown out of the room.

The next morning I dragged myself out of bed to attend brunch and say goodbye to Sarah. Then it was off to the airport, for yet another lengthy day of travel. First I flew to New York, where I had a four-hour layover at JFK – the worst airport in the world! Then back onboard for a four-hour flight to Denver through every thunderstorm in the country. The more I fly, the more I hate it. I think I will have to be sedated on my next trip to Japan.

Meg skis and does some other stuff, too

Blogging in Japan was so much fun that I decided to continue posting entries back in the real world. I had a hard time coming up with a blog title, so I stole the name “megskis” from my flickr.com photo account. It doesn’t quite cover all the bases, but since I’ve spent my last few winters ski bumming it in Vail and I am about to move back up there, this time for a year, it seemed at least somewhat appropriate.

At present, I am in Boulder, having nearly recovered from jet lag, only to put myself through the ringer again on a red-eye flight to Boston tonight. My dear friend Sarah (actually the only friend I ever made in a huge lecture at CU) is getting married tomorrow, so I’m off to see her tie the knot.

Then it’s back to Boulder for a week to work (I have several great copywriting projects going now), followed by a short camping trip and weekend in Glenwood Springs before I move up to Vail.

And thus, the Meg Skis blog is begun . . .