Colorado Springs

They keeping changing the roads in this city. Add my terrible sense of direction to moving roads and I'm perpetually lost. The strip malls on repeat don't help. If it wasn't for the mountains giving me a point of reference, I think I would lose my mind trying to get from one place to another.

It's nice to see my family and old friends, the stars, and open space between cities. I love the forest and the way people smile at you from passing cars, and the customer service can't be beat.

The dry air is making my face breakout, although my hair looks amazing. I can't seem to sleep at this altitude, so i'm always tired and always attempting to nap.

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ILM

oh no! Darth vader has our heads!!

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Dedicated to the artist...

As I walk out the door, I say to Allison "goodbye - I'm never coming back!". She smiles, I wave...and I find myself with a strange sense of freedom - like maybe I won't go back. What would happen if at this moment I just took what I had with me and left... ?

As my step lightens, I'm all of a sudden hit with this thought of impending doom - that maybe I'll get shot or I'll accidentally walk into traffic (as I'm typing this very moment while I'm walking) and I won't actually go back. Like, I nonchalantly, unintentionally predicted my own death and, when word gets back to the office, after the initial shock wears off, at some point Allison will realize that just before I left I actually said I was never coming back. Now it all seems so significant...

And then someone will discover this - my blog. "Did you know that Kristen was writing about this exact moment (meaning the one right now where you're reading this) just before she died? I feel so uncomfortable and inspired at the same time (this is me channeling you in the first person from my life before death - clever, eh? heh heh - yeah, okay, not really... clever, I mean)".

....

I continue to walk. Nothing's happening to me. No guns. No fire from the sky. Cars are dodging me left and right. I'm strangely invincible... There is a strong smell of tar in the air. I breathe it in deeply.

Making my way back to the office, I start to think, maybe it's good thing that I haven't had scaffolding fall on me. Maybe it's okay to return to the office with a sense of relief that I have survived ...

I say hello to Allison. She acts like she didn't even notice that I said I was never coming back...


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Breaktime for Billy

From earlier today...

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Phantom

We rushed to get here, find parking, grab a quick bite... and it turns out I had the time wrong! Show starts at 8pm not 7 (Berkeley Rep has me thinking all Wednesday night theater starts at 7).

... So we sit in Starbucks and wait while Hallelujah plays over the PA...

We saw a bunch of people getting arrested on our way over. A girl in a shiny jumpsuit stood on the side of the road in handcuffs surrounded by her baggy clothed friends, cops, flashing lights, passersby... Something about it made me really sad.

Josh is reading Odd News and eating nuts. "Bull storms mall, scares shoppers"

We've moved on to smooth jazz and Christmas songs ... Some guys made room for us at the window bar ... I have a terrible feeling that i'm not really drinking decaf ... A really old guy in a red beanie just rolled by on a razor scooter ... We still have 45 minutes to go ...

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Fish taco day!

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The ocean

I remember this one grey day when I went to the ocean with Tyler and Matt... as I watched Tyler's silhouette dance across the waves, Matt brought pieces of crab shell and reassembled them around me until I had three whole crab skeletons sitting with me in the sand. I sat with my journal and wrote about the grey and the silhouettes and the crabs...

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Thanksgiving

In Marin at Maureen and Dave's pretty little house on the ridge... :) A wonderful assortment of food, wine, new friends, and the best hosts you could ask for.

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Rock me

They're playing Rock Me Amadeus at Burger Joint and it's totally making my day.

It's raining. We have these loaner umbrellas at the office, so I grabbed one as I left. I generally avoid umbrellas at all costs, but I didn't dress for the weather today so, in a effort to not be more cold than I already am, I decided staying dry was a good choice. The umbrella I grabbed is just about the biggest umbrella i've ever seen. I'm pretty sure the diameter matches my height.

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Saturday fun

$1 wine tasting!

We got a bottle of EVIL (please read upside down) and Mark West, which is very close to Matt's stage name (Mark Winters).

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Game night

At Brian's gorgeous apartment on twin peaks... I could completely get lost in the view from the balcony.

His apartment is filled with artwork and books - an incredible collection of inspiration, thought, and design.

A night full of delicious lental soup, french pressed coffee, wine, laughter, music, stories... Fun! Oh, and games. ;)

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Obama

I tried to post this on Sunday, but I guess it didn't work.

Josh and I went to Everette and Jones for dinner and it was Obama crazy in there! Obama everywhere... :)

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Dinner w Maureen

Wow, it's been way too long... :)

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Oh yeah...

...and last night I met the famous V. Vale. He gave me some tips on Chinese food in North Beach. It's all about Chef Gia's (sp?) apparently. Ha! What a fun and fascinating man... :)

It's great to be in a place where you feel like art just moves all around you.

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