Burritos, Beer, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High

After getting burnt at my tennis tournament on Sunday, the weather here dramatically turned identical to winter time in London. Constant rain and 50 degree weather all this week. Perfect for enjoying a nice can of Spaghetti O's after work. Yup. I did it. Haven't had them since maybe junior high and they were delicious. Looks like we are in store for a warm up just in time for the big Rocky Mountain Showdown this weekend. And round 2 of my tennis tournament.

Each day I become increasingly pleased with the location of my apartment. Perfect location to be in the middle of everything. Something is always going on in Old Town, last weekend there was a car show, this weekend it looks to be a kids' festival complete with numerous inflatables. Always something to keep me occupied and plenty of people watching.

But only in Fort Collins...

• Will I pay $1.50 per load to wash my clothes and an additional $1.25 to dry a load. Good thing I am an infinitely wealthy college graduate student. I might as well pay a little extra and have all of my clothes dry cleaned. 
• Does a 50 year old man commit suicide and wander off to die underneath a tree near campus.....sad.
• Is it okay for me to watch Teen Mom and Jersey Shore on MTV.com. Hey all spanish and public tv channels + no cable + no DVD player = movies and tv shows on the computer to put off the homework. 
• Do I actually get along and actually enjoy the company of some of my JCPenney co-workers. I even met them on my day off today for a late brunch at this great place called the Egg and I. (Disclaimer: I did have select few at my old store I enjoyed as well!)
• Am I okay going to a restaurant and ordering breakfast for lunch. For those of you who don't know, in undergrad I HATED breakfast for dinner. You can't go to the Egg and I and not order breakfast food. Yum!
• Ordering your eggs over hard? Maybe I'm naive. Apparently this is lingo for fried eggs. News to me!
• Will I pay extra for all natural stir only peanut butter. Well on my way to stupid hippie mode. Next stop: Joining the local co-op down the road with my new friend Emily who just moved in across the hall from me. 
• Are there 10 million lifting racks in the weight room and not one of them has a female at it. All males. Yes I do get weird looks. No it does not stop me from squatting and bench pressing my pathetically light weight. 
• Do they have a CSU women's tennis team....but no men's team. 12 brand new courts....all for the ladies. Nice!
• Do they play bike polo in the park. in the grass....instead of water polo....or using horses. Interesting, and entertaining to watch. 
• Oh yeah and drive in movies at New Belgium Brewery every Thursday night in August and July. Here is the catch: you can only drive your bike, no cars allowed! Emily and I checked it out tonight, it is conveniently right down the road from our apartments. Nothing better than paying $2 for a movie and enjoying some delicious Burrito City and a Fat Tire while watching a classic early 80's movie. Great way to end the week. Think we'll go again next week, hopefully I wont have to wear a jacket and two sweatshirts!

Off to Denver tomorrow to experience my first Rocky Mountain Showdown. CSU vs. CU, at the big Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, home of the Broncos. Pep rally sponsored by CSU all night in downtown Denver and then kick-off is at 11. Go Rams!

Happy Weekend : )

It's like a Pregame for Halloween

Yes, we all thought that the crazy apartment pool party that looked like an MTV springbreak gone wild was bad. Tour de fat was even more crazies just not confined to one pool area. It was insane. 5 blocks of people dressed up in costume on bikes getting ready to parade around town. It took me about two hours to finish the parade route (which moves extremely slow) and even when I was finishing, there were still people just starting. And I thought Living History Farms was crazy and full of random people. Tour de fat = prime time people watching. Let me just show you.

 Here we have Fred and Wilma getting ready to start the race.

 And naturally a big T-Rex Man, yes he is drinking beer in this picture. 

 Davy Crockett Colorado Style?

 I always pictured Sponge Bob looking way different in real life....

 Chick-fil-A mascot? Not for sure.

 Of course classic Pac-Man

 Gotta get at least one mullet in there.

 The gang from the hangover asked us to be in their picture

 gnomes in their natural environment

 Alan from the hangover, satchel and all

 annd there was alot of this...random costumes....

 Portable disco ball

 Penguin man

 Holy Batman!

Of course no festival is complete without an oversized porta potty that you can karoke in

Our prime picture taking time was after the parade where New Belgium Brewery had free stages complete with music, competitions, and comedic acts. And plenty of beer tents. All in all a very successful but tiring day!

My labor day weekend was not complete without a trip into Rocky Mountain National Park. We decided to hike to Chasm Lake, right next to Long's Peak (one of the highest peaks you can actually hike to in Rocky Mountain National Park). The round trip was 9 miles and to Long's Peak it is 14 I believe. Someday soon, it is a goal I have. But Chasm Lake was beautiful, and I heard we went at a great time. Let me just share with you:

 Beautiful Columbine in the Alpine Tundra

 The streams were full and flowing

 Chasm Lake!

 Beautiful Waterfall

 A marmot, relative to the squirrel : ) 

Long's Peak in the Fall. Great day and perfect weather for the hike!

But after the holiday weekend I've realized that only in Fort Collins....

• Is it acceptable to have a brewery put on an all day city fest that everyone actually attends
• Can I ride my bike in the rain (and a dress!) and not get any second looks
• Am I motivated to just ride my bike grocery shopping and I dont even give it a second thought!
• Do they give out free I love biking stickers and pins : ) 
• Can you not see the mountains when it rains. 
• I just can not seem to get this high altitude baking down : ( Thank God I dont have a husband to witness all of my screw ups. 
• Does a train arrive in town everyday during rush hour, which just happens to be at the same time I leave my apartment if I want to be to class early. So actually I have to leave my apartment twice as early if I want to run any errands before class so that I have time to wait on the train or beat the train. 
• Can I get a suntan from waiting on my bike for a train
• Will someone stop me mid-run and ask if 'Dutch Tennis' is a drinking game. Ha no, my Dutch Tennis shirt was just the mascot at my undergrad school and I was on the tennis team.....come on people dutch tennis is not a 'different type of beer pong'. Don't you know drinking games are not accepted in your town?! Great idea though, I'm working on a new game as we speak...it will be called Dutch Tennis, more details to come. And knowing me it will include tequila. 
• Oh yeah, and only in Fort Collins do they pre-game for Halloween. Entertaining.

Weekend class this weekend!! Love it. Ha. But intramural tennis tournament begins Sunday!! Look out all you undergrad ladies, I'm playing for a trophy!! Or a shirt. Whatever they give out to intramural champions.

Happy Weekend! Enjoy!

Bad Drivers not welcome

Another week discovering the big town.

After an uneventful Friday and Saturday full of weekend class, I was ready to get out and do some exploring. On Sunday I went up into the foothills to do a little hiking/sightseeing. Much more to offer than I had originally thought, and beautiful views of the city. Oh plus I finally found the CSU stadium! Go Rams! Ha the mountains are right by it, making it a beautiful stadium. The students had 'paint the A white day on saturday' which is basically a huge 'A' in the foothills overlooking the stadium and town. There are three shifts and students go up and paint it every year. It stands for aggie because the school is a big agricultural/mining school. Of course I had weekend class so didnt participate, but they did a nice job!

After my mountain excursion it was time to check out the mall for a little bit. That thing may look small, but it actually has alot to offer. Very impressed with the stores and selection. Of course I couldn't leave without a good deal in hand, thank you American Eagle.

And I started at the lovely JCP this week. Yep, 5:30 AM Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I am apparently now a part of the replenishment/stock team. Got a nice raise since it is a higher position along with a nice ugly red JCP polo to wear everyday to work at 5:30 AM. Yes, it has been an interesting week, but have had one job interview with another one to come. Things are looking promising that I wont be stuck there forever.

Well time for an adventurous weekend with my friend Anna!


But only in Fort Collins...

- Can B.O.B jump off the stage, crowd surf, and leave us all with the parting words 'don't drink and drive, smoke and fly' Insightful to a state where marijuana is basically legal.

- Is it okay to bring your dog shopping with you into JcPenney. Yep, I have seen it more than once. Interesting.

- Do they have a whole day set aside to celebrate bicycle riding. Tour de fat, this weekend people! Put on by none other than the New Belgium Brewery, producers of Fat Tire Beer

- Do they have a drive in bicycle theater. Yep, every Thursday at the New Belgium Brewery. Bring $2, your bike, and a blanket at Sundown and they get a movie going while you enjoy a nice beer.

- Oh yeah and is apparently home to the best drivers in America?! Yep, lowest town in the nation for accident rates according to Allstate. Their theory is no one is in a particular hurry because of all the beautiful sights around the area. Mine is: everyone rides their bikes. Wonder what the pedestrian accident rate is.

Happy labor Day weekend!

White Sweet Potatoes

Lesson learned:
 You cannot walk across CSU's campus in 10 minutes.
 This is not central college, pella, iowa anymore.
This is the real life. Real college. It takes 15, at least. by the time you dodge all the bikers and long boarders, deny about 5 people asking you to take a survey, and speed walk past all those dang cowboys who cant walk fast in there boots, its a good 20 and that is just to the middle of campus.
Good thing I'm not in a sport. I wouldn't have the energy after walking to class.
Now I know why everyone skips class.

Oh yeah and there is no need to stand in line at the bookstore to return your books. The guy at the counter will just look at you like your stupid, tell you to take 5 left turns, a right turn, and 3 steps back and somewhere in the middle of all that, there is a window, with one woman working, where you return your books.

Hmm. okay. it's like freshman year all over again.

oh yeah and if your brand new bike breaks down in the city where bike theft is a problem. Don't worry, at least it is stranded outside of the police station, and it is already registered.

But only in Fort Collins:

- Does the college send out a brochure against beer pong. not because it can lead to excess drinking, noise complaints, or meningitis. but because it is not environmentally friendly. Yep, ya gotta throw those red plastic cups out sometime, maybe a broken ball here and there too. well, too bad. i'm not stopping, i'll just use glasses.

- They have a night called Bohemian nights where multiple high school garage bands play in old town and all the locals gather. and sometimes dance. in their flowing dresses and mid-drift tops.

- Reuse, recycle, be green and save money. but every woman in this town has a nice pedicure. With designs.

- or they have no polish on at all. Cant afford a pedicure. Guess it's the all natural route for me if i want to fit in

-  sprinklers all turn on at 7. conveniently the time i walk back from class. this isn't Arizona people, it rains here. Come on lets be environmentally friendly, save the water and play beer pong, i would appreciate it.

- they only sell white sweet potatoes in the grocery stores. yep, not the same as a normal sweet potato. take my word on it.

wahoo first 4 hour friday night class tomorrow. pumped. especially since i would much rather be there than the B.O.B Sean Kingston concert on campus that I could have gotten into for about $8 for being  a student. oh well at least the student I.D. still gets me free rides on the Transfort system.
Awesome.

Hello Kitty

Life Changing Day in the Life of Carissa Bane. Bought a new bike here which can only mean two things:

1) I'm officially a Fort Colliner
2) I HAVE to do Ragbrai at some point now, no turning back. No matter how out of shape or old I am. I just invested in a nice bike and it is making it to some point of Ragbrai.

But for real the bike trails here are amazing. I hopped on one tonight to try out the new bike and ended up on the other end of town a half hour away from home. Good thing I spent extra to get the front and rear lights!

**The best part is they have an amazing bike library here where you can check out bikes for the day or week for FREE!! With an ID. So expect to do some bike riding on trails if you are coming to visit me : )

This town continues to be uniquely different from anywhere I have lived before.

- I know I said this before, but seriously, EVERYONE has some connection to Iowa. I must stick out because a typical conversation for me here goes like this.
                 Hi. So where are you from. Oh Iowa. Yeah? What part of Iowa. Oh okay, yeah my cousin's step
                 mother's best friend lived in Iowa. I couldn't tell you what town, but somewhere in northern Iowa.
                 So have you ever ridden ragbrai?
 Literally had 3 conversations today that went just like that.

- Every store feels the need to have a mascot/sign dancer/promoter on the corner. Every corner there is someone dressed up like a pizza or rocking out to their IPOD holding a sign promoting a bookstore

- Camouflage Cowboy hat?? paired with Sperry's?? Gotta get that East coast in the West hick feeling? Only in this town.

- They either don't spray for mosquitoes or just have an insane amount. (yes more than Iowa)

- Mass quantities of grasshoppers. Ran over millions today with my new bike.

- No one owns a new bike. I dont know where they all get their used bike because every used bike shop I went into had practically nothing. Guess mine is the first one getting stolen. Good thing I invested in the best bike lock there is.

- It is socially acceptable for large grown men to ride their significantly younger sister's pink bike.

- Cycologist is actually a bike shop

- The bus system is called the Transfort system...get it?? TransFORT like Fort Collins. Yeah it's okay, I've been here a week and it finally kicked in today.

- Oh yeah and no one says hi to you on the streets in passing, but if you are wearing a hello kitty shirt, you will get random people just saying 'hello kitty'. yes even 75 year old women. A whole group of them. Or middle aged men? I may never where that shirt again in this town.

Well I have put off homework long enough. My day off was definitely a day off, time to get back at it.

Pickled Eggs in a Bar?

Well I enjoyed my blogging experience so much when I was abroad, I thought why not do it again! This set up may be a bit different. I may just take a few minutes each day to list something strange, unusual, abnormal, etc. That I have observed. We'll see how it goes! P.S. Please don't forget to read my disclaimer!

Well my first week here has been so far so good. Just getting adjusted to life and trying to not die while I run (this high altitude is killer). It is embarrassing when I walk into target out of breath from walking through the parking lot. I haven't had much going on this weekend so I finished organizing the place, working on a little pre-class homework, bike shopping, and of course exploring the town. I did some mini-golf at Fort Fun last night with a few friends and then hit the town for a drink. Today I tried out a new church and am now spending some much needed time on my new computer.

My observations from the first week:
- Austin's American Grill = Great Food
- I could literally go for a run, put a hat on and wear it all day, take the hat off and wear my hair and outfit as is out on the town on a Saturday night. People wear everything here.
- Jean overall shorts is a socially acceptable when going out, should have brought mine with!
- It's socially acceptable to wear a school backpack in the bars...even while dancing?!
-People who ride their bikes at night attach a red blinking light to the back of their clothes, and if they are too intoxicated they sometimes forget to take it off and turn it off....
- There is an alcohol delivery store, just in case you are too drunk to get alcohol any other way
- Everyone has some connection to Iowa. EVERYONE
-The squirrels have pathetically small tails
- Everyone runs in the bike lanes instead of on the sidewalks....i'm sticking to the sidewalks
- There is a random piano in the middle of downtown that you can play...drunk...or sober
-There is also a random piano on campus that people frequently play on
- There is a bar that prices their drinks similar to the stock market. There is a huge screen above the bar and the price of a drink depends on the popularity of that drink/alcohol that night. You almost never pay the same amount for a drink, it is constantly changing. Entertaining, love it.
- 3 wal-marts, 2 targets.
- It's socially acceptable to come to the bar wearing ram horns on your head.... or just to dress up in whatever costume you want. odd.
- And yes they do sell pickled eggs at the bars....pickled eggs?? I'll let you know if I try one!

First day of classes tomorrow, more later!