Second Week at Aegis Creative Communications, Inc.

I have begun my new life in Colorado and it's been quite the whirlwind of a couple weeks. My dad and I did the road trip from Seattle all the way to Denver through Eastern WA, SE Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and finally through the north of Colorado. We stayed overnight in Twin Falls, Idaho and then after that completed the drive and ended in Lakewood where we stayed in a hotel right across from Aegis. Because my dad was teleconferencing many of the mornings, we usually started the drive pretty late, like around 10:30-11 AM, which meant driving fairly late into the night. Let me tell you that driving at night with a car completely jam packed with all of my belongings and an old GPS (or Map Lady as my dad prefers to call her out of respect) is not the ideal situation. When we finally made it into Colorado, to get to Fort Collins the Map Lady took us on this random highway in the middle of cow country where there were absolutely no street lights, nor a medium in the road to prevent us from crashing head-on into cars coming from the opposite direction. I feared for our lives, and was ready to swerve off the road in case a sleeping or drunk driver drifted into our lane. But then there was always the chance that a deer could prance out into the road, so I knew that we were screwed in many ways if anything darted into our path that night.

Fortunately, we made it safely to Lakewood. The next day I got to my apartment in Cherry Creek where I'd be spending the next year of my life (at least), and found out that there's no elevator to help me in the move-in process. So after a couple of hours of my dad and I huffing and puffing up the stairs, our bodies not yet accustomed to the high elevation (Denver is the mile-high city after all), we collapsed onto the clean carpet of my two-bedroom and gazed around the sparse apartment. It's really very spacious with high, vaulted ceilings and a cozy, bright sun-room with a large bay window. There's even an electric fire place which I know will be very useful in the colder months. My apartment looks to the west, and I have an extraordinary view of the mountains, which I am sure will be even more spectacular come winter when the trees have lost their leaves and a layer of white coats those distant giants. My snow board is safely stored in front closet...clearly I'm not an expert snow boarder because I've had the thing for seven years and have yet to get a stomp pad. I was wondering why every time I went up to the mountains with friends I would be the one falling on my ass every time we got off a lift because my left foot would not stay put on the slippery board (yes I'm goofy-footed in snowboarding terms). But that stomp pad shouldn't be hard to get.

And besides some minor set-backs, such as my car not starting the first Friday of work and requiring $1,085.00 of repair because of a wiring/electrical problem, I've had a great experience in Colorado thus far. My "Aegis Family" as I like to call them, is incredibly supportive and helpful. I was a little fearful coming out here because I'm a single girl moving to a brand new place where I only have a few connections. I really couldn't have asked for a better work environment, though. They are so professional but it is obvious everyone really cares for each other. My car luckily (if I can even use the term "luckily") broke down about a five minute walk from work outside of a Brueggers Bagels, and Patrick, the Operations Manager here at Aegis, walked over to provide me with some moral support as I awaited AAA to arrive to tow the car. The CEO of the company also put me in touch with her husband Dan who is a mechanic and who has had good experience with Pickering, an auto repair shop in Lakewood. Obviously I am not a mechanic in any way, shape, or form, so being able to throw his name out as a reference was very helpful too. I didn't think they'd take a young, blonde girl like me seriously, especially since my strength is in the arts, not mechanics. So my car was towed there, and they gave me a little, red, loaner kia for the weekend which certainly did the trick for me for a couple of days. They didn't even make me pay for it...I think they felt bad that I was driving a 1992 Ford Explorer, or "the Exploder" as I prefer to call it. Yes, the car was made when I  was three years old, but it does have a lot of character! Needless to say, I was not ready to spend my second weekend in Denver sitting on my butt in my apartment, so I was thankful I had some mode of transportation when the poor Exploder nearly exploded and was in the auto repair hospital.

And so the weeks have passed. I now have cable and internet in my apartment and am no longer living in the dark ages, so I feel like I'm starting to get used to this routine of 40 hour work weeks. Life in the real world really is exhausting though. During the week I go to work, make the 15-20 minute commute home, work out, eat dinner, watch a show or two, and go to sleep usually by 10 PM. Such normalcy in my life might seem odd and restrictive for someone like me who is so keen for adventure, but I'm actually really liking it. It's like I know what I should be doing at all times, and the time that I do have to relax I make the most of. My apartment complex also has a pool, so last Sunday when it was 85 degrees out was definitely a good day to lounge around by that. I also live right by Cherry Creek itself and a 4-mile historical trail. Although there isn't much shade, it provides an excellent environment for running. My body is finally adapting to the altitude, so I do my long runs on weekends while I use the gym during the week.

The weather is, however, is extremely bipolar. For instance, like I said last weekend was beautiful with the sun shining every day. I have a really attractive tan line from my running top. But last night it was storming and it even SNOWED in some places just twenty minutes out of Denver! I drove to Littleton, CO (20 minutes South of where I live), and it was monsooning out. I was going to a social media marketing lecture at the Apple store there, and ended up being late because traffic was ridiculous and I could barely see. I was so terrified that my car would break down on the highway and I would be stuck to fend for myself in such miserable weather. But, I eventually made it, and it was a really informative session, especially because a lot of my job at Aegis will be utilizing social media websites such as this one, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc, to advertise some of the applications we're developing. Such as the CladeHealthTracker iPhone and iPad app. I'm going to post another blog more about that lecture a little later, because I really did learn some interesting facts about social media that I hadn't known before and that other people should know--especially because such insight can really help a business prosper.

Anyways, I guess that's all for now. I'm really considering getting a dog...I have so much space in my apartment and I just want some big, furry animal to hug and cuddle with. Dawn, the president of Aegis, has an adorable dog named Zeeta and they aren't exactly sure of her breed but they're thinking somewhere along the lines of Husky/Lab mix. She's really the sweetest dog ever, so I'm sure that I'll steal her away from time to time to take her running. Dawn has been training for a half marathon and says that Zeeta does her long runs with her and still has an abundant amount of energy at the end. So until I actually get my own puppy, I know that I'll have plenty of dogs to hang out with because Denver is really a dog-friendly city. I'm thinking along the lines of a German Shepard/Lab mix. I'll probably just go to the humane society/pound from time to time to see if any puppies are brought in. I just don't want to have a small dog...I need something that has really strong legs and can put up with my energy and love for the outdoors and hiking. Thank God my apartment allows pets! The fine isn't too bad either. It's just $20.00 extra a month. Just add it on, baby!

Well that's all for now. I'll post about the social media lecture a little later!