Denver Bound

On Saturday, January 8, I am packing up the Jeep with a few of my belongings (including warm clothes and a snowboard), Gordon and Sienna and am heading for the Mile High city of Denver, CO.

This move has been in the process for a few months. I hit a point in my career when I knew that it was probably time to make a move. When I started thinking of my options, I realized that they were endless. Here I was (am) a single, 27-year-old girl, with the world in her hands. I took a good look around at my life, knew myself to be very blessed but found myself idling.

I've been in Vegas for 20 years, I have never lived anywhere as an adult (I hardly count that semester in Reno when Linz and I were 18 and rarely left our rooms thanks to Captain Morgan and Dominos) and I was ready for a major change.

I'd been looking for something to jump start my life for awhile now. School had filled that void but thanks to Sir Gordon's vet bills and life in general, that plan is on hold for now.

I considered my options - I love the beach and California, but a little too expensive. Manhattan is a beautiful fantasy but knew that the reality would be much different. Austin? Could I roll the die on a place I'd never even visited even though I had always been told I'd love it? Even looked at an agency in San Francisco...

Then, there was Denver - a city I had had a crush on for a number of years. The benefits: Linz and Josh, Andy and Angela, Tracy and Devin, the whole Granquist clan, a 2 hour flight home to Vegas that has never cost me over $200, culture, seasons, the outdoors (including Copper Mountain) and even a piece of home at The Get Back on Third Fridays. Not to mention that Cory shared with me that he was out to lunch with a few girl friend's a few months back who lovingly referred to the place as MENver due to the guy to girl ratio (not to mention the beards). The drawback? Leaving my family and friends - although that wasn't specific to Denver - and learning to drive in the snow.

I decided that the pros outweighed the cons and started applying for jobs in the Denver area. I found the neighborhood I wanted to live in, I fell in love with an agency, I spruced up my resume - wrote a ton of cover letters and even made it to the second round at a few places. What it ultimately came down to was the fact that I wasn't living there. Someone with an 80203 was way more likely to get the gig than myself with my 89117.

So, I committed to my plan 100% to relocate and moved home to save up some money to put my plan in to place. That was back in October. Earlier this month, I gave notice to my job and I continue to buy boots and sweaters and waterproof items (you'd think I was moving to the North Pole the way I am preparing). I talk quite often on the phone to Linz, both of us getting excited to reunite - I text with Andy, making sure we get a number of trips up to the mountain in and I feel myself getting more and more anxious as January 8 approaches.

I am moving without a job. Plan to stay with the Wicklers until I get on my feet (and a HUGE thanks to them for opening their beautiful home to me - the photo above will be my view come January 9). For the first time in my life, I am taking a leap and hoping that the net will appear.

And it feels really, really fucking good.

Though all bittersweet as it was an incredible difficult decision for me to make. Vegas is, and always will be, my home. The people I have met here have changed my life (and most of them, for the better). This city has given me so many opportunities and has shaped me into the person that I (proudly) am today.

Thank you, Vegas. It's been a extraordinary 20 years. Know that I plan to carry your eternal glow with me - everywhere I go, I will shine for you.