DEAD ANIMAL PHOTO SPOILER ALERT

You know, just in case the picture of a dead javelina is going to gross you out...

It had snowed up in the mountains shortly before I left for the citay, and I saw this poor guy on the side of the road. Not having seen many javelinas up close (they're kind of aggressive and it is generally recommended not to come in close contact with them, especially if you are accompanied by your dog, which will with all probability chase the javelina for some time until it realizes there was not one but three, and they are not so very scared of it, turn quickly and high-tail it back to YOU, with angered javelinas as its heels), I turned around and pulled off the road in order to further inspect:

What odd creatures and what tiny, hooved feet.

My next stop was to renew my soon-to-be-expired driver's license (ah, waiting in the famed MVD lines...kind of made me think of Spain, ah ah ah) and say good-bye to my mummy.

And then, having broken forth onto the high plains, I saw perhaps the largest herd of pronghorn antelope I can remember seeing. The pictures do not display their numbers, but it was a very scenic...scene.

Also, I despise digital zoom on cameras and think the quality is abominable, but I think this image is rather striking, despite its lack of focus and/or extreme pixelation:

It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie and my grandmother's watercolor paintings.

In other news, I went [horseback] riding with some friends in Glenwood while I was home and put my waterbottle and camera in the saddlebag. Oops. Turns out the waterbottle leaked and I did not notice that my camera was getting this precious liquid into into its fine mechanical and optical parts, which do not so very much appreciate baths. This is rather unfortunate, as I am not financially able to buy myself a lovely new camera, as much as I have been wanting to do so for years...Until that time so presents itself, I am borrowing Mom and Dad's B camera, which is, actually, remarkably similar to my old one. Same model, in fact, but with a fold out screen rather than built-in. Anyway, I have, once again, been bailed out, so to speak, by my parents and am capable of capturing images. As an added bonus, my parents are not particularly zealous in deleting their photos after uploading them to their computer, so I imagine my delight in finding some remarkable photos from July. I'll leave you with this gem of a moment:

Big Al says "Don't forget to check the tire pressure and fluid levels in your car!" right before getting dunked by his grandson at a Fouth of July celebration. :)

the noises behind the sounds of silence

I hereby desire to terminate the lack of written expression which has been my tendency these weeks past...In thus doing I shall summarize the defining events which have taken place since my last entry.

-I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my birth; I reflected on this seemingly important number with due attention, and appalled my mother by stating that I was officially one quarter century old. She said being more than half a century old sounded terribly intimidating.* I, however, was neither terribly overwhelmed nor disgusted by this number for myself, feeling that it is a rather prime age with OPPORTUNITY written all over it. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I am frustrated by the transient stage between "student" and "grown-up" (in which I apply many stereotypical ideals or expectations to said state of being, which ought most definitely be reconstructed)but other days I am quite excited to have the past I've had and the future that is yet to be. Those are good days.

-I packed up a very few things (for once in my life I was not moving on an airplane! But the space of the trunk and front seat of a Miata is comparable to two suitcases and a carry-on item, so it was really about the same, the difference being that I didn't have to pack so neatly or control the size and placement of liquids) into the little car my parents have so generously allowed me to drive until I can afford a vehicle of my own and moved myself to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I, like the bear, wanted to go to the other side of the mountain to see what I could see, see what I could see. Photographic evidence of this journey will be provided below, or in a separate post.

-I interviewed for two jobs, one to be a campaign staff member working to raise money for good causes, but with a schedule and duties I was not particularly fond of (read "door to door") and the other a paralegal position with an immigration law firm Ah-hah, now we're talkin'! Both organizations called me back for a second interview or to do a trial day and after interview numero dos at the law firm, I was hired! I know the assumption is that I will be speaking Spanish all day with this job, but in reality I will use it somewhat infrequently, as the clients I will mostly be working with are part of the "employment immigration" demographic, meaning largely scientists, professors and engineers hired by the university or labs and in need of working visa papers. Some of these will speak Spanish, perhaps, although the majority will probably possess European or Asian passports. This will also be exciting, because I looove meeting people from other places and and building those multicultural relationships. Also, HURRAH, I HAVE A JOB!!!!! (I start in one week. Must go shopping for "business casual.")

-I moved into a lovely adobe house with an extremely independent and furry cat. "Tarzan." A temporary abode, (oh, just look at those two words! "Adobe abode") I will be staying here for three months while its owners bask in the tropical bounties of Central America. In April I will once more seek cheap, shared housing, preferably within biking distance of my work and the university zone...and I will buy a bike.

-Did I mention they have a compost bin at the office? They have a compost bin. Wicked.

-I went to a salsa class with a friend from high school. Both of those things are remarkable. I love to dance, but I've taken very few, if any, formal classes in salsa, and it was nice to have some explicit instructions. It was also fantastic to reconnect with my friend (I also totally took advantage of her hospitality and invaded her home for a week before I moved in to my current house) and find out we have a lot in common again. Salsa next week? ¡Qué sí!

Having expounded with more detail than intended, as is my custom, I shall withhold photos for a separate post, not wanting to exhaust my hypothetical readers with overwhelmingly lengthy entries.


*My mother, of course, was exaggerating her age and rounding up. I think she is 42 or 43, really... *wink*