another summary:

2011 began with a round of Jim Beam in a dive bar in big sky. and then there were four more months of ski-bumming, a visit from my sister, a bar made out of snow, a dirtbag ball in a retro prom dress, a return to carnivorism, snowmobiling in yellowstone with mumsey and pops, beautiful new fat-skis, more snow than i have ever seen before and one little trip to the ER...

then there was my little cabin in the mountains, nine mismatched windsuits, a miraculous fort hidden in the forest, snowshoeing and snow-kayaking and costume hiking, a reunion with my very favorite texan, a trip to the Vortex, twelve incredible summits, a formal event in the forest, a visit from my uncle and a dive bar in whitefish, flag football and softball and capture the flag, a terrible goodbye...

and then there was a road trip east, tourist traps and greasy spoons and tacky souvenirs, six whole weeks in minneapolis, lots of biking and citywalking and even some dancing, dinner parties at the grandparents', kayaking at fort snelling park, some quality time with lake superior, a birthday trip to las vegas, a solo roadtrip through nebraska...

and it ends here, in my sweet new mountain home, with a few pitchers or coors and probably some debauchery.

happy new year folks!

bring it on 2012.

i found a little christmas magic.

cocktail parties plus beer pong, boys in sport coats and silly bolo ties, pond hockey and skiing in the sun, christmas stockings hung above the bar, homemade eggnog to make our christmas shifts at the restaurant a little more joyful...

these are from Longmont and Estes Park a few weeks ago.

i got to see my cousin liz after way too long. there were cats to play with. and food that did not come out of a dorm fridge. and cocoa and cookies in the park and a skydiving santa. it was such a good colorado weekend, and i'm looking forward to more of them.

and now it's christmas eve!

i'm off to play some hockey and drink some beers :)

cheers.

last night i drove to Vail to catch up with some Glacier Park friends. we were six people in a studio apartment, but we pulled together some sort of thanksgiving. a borrowed card table, mismatched dishes, dance music at the dinner table, and irreverent homemade headwear. dan cooked all night and wowed us with culinary magic.
in recent years: unusual celebrations are the usual.

so here's a new adventure: i'm living in a dorm for the first time.

there will even be a roommate, any day now.

my room is cold and concrete. i'm subsisting on ramen noodles and oatmeal packets. the hallway smells of dank snowboard boots. but hell! i've lived with a terrible hoarder, and in a row-house with four screaming german kids, and in a wooden box in the forest with no bathroom...

this dorm is cheap and slope-side, and i think i dig it.

lake superior on film.

today i'm headed to colorado for my new winter job. i'm working at another ski resort for the season, slinging pizzas for my season pass.

from the north shore in the fall.

1) the view from our hotel in grand marais

2) lunch on the north shore scenic drive

3) we are particularly fond of rock beaches

4) fried herring at the angry trout

5) grand marais harbor

so far 26 looks like this: las vegas on a point and shoot. kinda tacky, kinda drunk, kinda fabulous.

this is what 25 looked like.

mumsey and sister in Duluth, Minnesota.

our trip was swell. we wandered on the rock slabs at artist's point and ate lake superior fish and drank "kayak Kölsch" and bought sweet woodcuts. this is my only trip photo for now, because i am not quite proficient at my new MacBook (!!). and there's no time to develop film yet - because i'm headed to VEGAS in the morning!

omaniloveoctober

right now: i'm sitting next to lake superior!

it's a north shore trip with mumsey and sister.

honestly, this lake gives glacier NP a run for it's money.

it's fall in the city!

last week my girlfriends and i crawled out of the forest and went on a roadtrip.

everything is so delicious and luxurious after a remote mountain summer. we went out for delectable breakfasts and drank espresso drinks at sidewalk cafes. we toured breweries in the afternoon, or went on waterslides. at nite we curled up in hotel rooms with wine and snacks and chickflicks (and internet! what a novelty!) we rolled into minneapolis with bags full of south dakota souvenirs, like my new ViewMaster.

at the end of it, i had to say goodbye to two of the best girlfriends i will ever have
(until we meet up in vegas at the end of this month!)