Milestones

This Tuesday, I left for Colorado Springs on adventure that is most appropriately titled, "My First Business Trip". I've always wanted to go on a business trip! It wasn't nearly has glamorous as most. It was a quick trip and completely devoid of company perks and luxurious amenities. Nonetheless, it was an adventure and I had a great time.

Here's a photo of me arriving in Colorado Springs on Tuesday evening:


I went straightway to my rental car provider where my chariot awaited, in the form of a Dodge Caliber. After having asked the rental car staff for directions, they had a bit of advice for me: "Uhh, you should be careful. That's not exactly the best part of town." Nice!

I went straightway to my luxurious accommodations at the swanky Travelodge -- not exactly the Broadmoor. But hey! We're nonprofit. What do you expect? It didn't seem too bad, really. Of course, I'm from New Jersey, so I might have a skewed perspective. But there were no sketchy broken windows with creepy prowlers and dealers on the corner. Travelodge had internet access in the lobby only (but it was TOTALLY free), so I hung out there till about 12 sending emails and.. well, goofing off really. There was a lovely, friendly-looking dog behind the counter of the front desk and lots of asian people, who appeared to be management, hanging out and starting to play old 80's ballads as we approached the 12 o'clock hour (which is apparently also the karaoke hour?). Despite they're eccentricities, the crowd proved harmless.

The next morning I got free breakfast! Travelodge is seriously growing on me at this point. Especially when I found my hotel room free of hair in the sink and all other forms of ickiness. Ok, so my standards aren't very high. But the fun asian management people were a total perk. Who wouldn't be endeared to petite, middle-aged, balding men who sing power ballads at midnight?

After breakfast I wisked myself away to training. It was hosted by the Olympic Complex. I didn't know the official complex for the Olympics was in Colorado Springs. But it is. So, now you know. It was pretty cool. My favorite feature was the juice station they had in the hallway. YUM!

After the conference, I had an afternoon to kill before my flight. the gentleman that was next to me on my flight the day before had recommended some local attractions. The most appealing to me of his suggestions was the Garden of the Gods. Here's a couple pic's of its beautiful vistas:





As you can probably tell, the rock formations were HUGE and totally cool. Here's a close up:


I also encountered another close up. There was a deer right on the walking paths there who didn't seem phased by the tourists. I admit, I've seen a million deer before and it's NOT a big event, but he was so CLOSE. And I had a camera!! I had to take a picture. Several pictures. I was trying to photograph him/her in a discreet manner so as not to startle the beast. Well, I was successful in being discreet. AND so was the deer. So, they're a bit more of a "Where's Waldo" experience rather than "Look How Close the Deer Is." But I'll post them anyway. Can you find the deer?




I was disappointed to find there was no fitness center at the luxurious yet amenity-lacking Travelodge. To my rescue and my delight, there were trails at the Garden of the Gods. Most accomodating. Here's me at the Garden of the Gods after my run:


After that, I went through the shops in Historic Old Colorado City, which was lovely. At last, I was kind of done with everything and lost my adventurous spirit. I also worried I might run out of luck and actually get myself lost, so I decided to head back to the airport and get some work done till my flight left for home.

I'm amazied I managed to get to everything without screwing it up. You'd almost think I was a responsible adult. Well, not quite, but there may be hope for me yet.

Other career news: I was actually on the news Wednesday morning w/ the KJZZ Cafe. My organization sent a shipment of supplies to Myanmar, so they featured a bit about us and apparently almost everyone else at my organization is camera-shy. Good thing their PR girl is a total ham! :)