Can't sleep...

The stock market...

I usually ignore the news. Turn it off and watch comedy instead, because these things depress me. But since I've been here, Lola really likes to follow it. Incisively. So I have been following the market and the politics that go along with it.

Somehow I found myself doing more research on the stock market and the other "blacks" we've had as a country....

All the Major Crashes have occurred at the same time of year:

October 29, 1929 (Tuesday)

October 19, 1987 (Monday)

September 17. 2001 (Monday)- this one really doesn't count because it was just out of post-9/11 fear, but then again the Great Depression can be attributed to fear and panic by the American People

September 29, 2008

I have no idea if there is anything more than coincidence on these things, BUT if anyone has any clue as to why it always seems to happen in the fall, please enlighten me.

Moving on, (right after I bury all my money under one of the Teton Mountains)...

Happy thoughts:

I took Elu to the river today to play with JD (Shane's sister's dog) and Bomber (My friend Michelle's puppy) o the river to play... she's completely and utterly passed out right now! She and her furry friends got DIRTY and WET and played and played and played!!!

Then I went and had dinner with the new Roomie and a couple of her friends. There was pizza and football and PBR tallboys. it was super!

I got a box of clothes from my mom... that was cool.

I am ready for snow to fall... A lift pass for the season at Snow King is $179 if I get it before October 31st... come on gimme a job someone!!!! After that it's $209, not too bad for unlimited snowboarding- and on the weekends they keep the lifts open until 8pm! TetonVillage, however is a little more expensive: a season pass is $2,000. BUT You can get a ten day pass for $700, or buy them by the day for $50 a pop... That's a big decision to make. Do I want to just learn how to ski the smaller mountain and take an end-of-the-season splurge at the Village, or go on and buy a pass for the Village and not Snow King? or in a perfect world, get both... I'll keep you posted on what I decide, I think the money will speak for itself, even though there are SO many more trails in the Village...

Okay, Almost Famous is on and I think I'm going to have some herbal tea, watch the movie and try to fall asleep at a semi-decent hour (might be too late for that already, seeing as it's 1AM)

Night all!

Weekends in Jackson...

so... since I last posted a lot has happened.

Yellowstone was amazing, as you can see from the pictures, the complete album of pics if up on Facebook, if you have it go check it out. We drove all over the park (west side at least) and went into Montana for a second, first trip to Montana, I had Arby's there (which was nice 'cause there is no Arby's in Jackson).

Yellowstone trip was Wednesday. Thursday I met Shane at the Cadillac for happy hour and a Burger. Upon arrival, I run into our friend Eric and Christen and her boyfriend. We ate there, left and went to the Tavern, watched Oregon State upset USC, (Badass game btw) then we went to 43North and saw a jazz band. Overall, great evening.

Friday I went hiking the Teton National Park. We went up Death Canyon. It was about 4 miles in and then back out. I forgot my camera, and I'm kicking myself for it because it was so beautiful. The Rockefellers used to OWN the mountain, luckily they were generous enough to share this majestic land with the rest of the country. We hiked into Phelps Lake, it was about 2 miles to get to the back side of the lake. I have never seen water so blue! In the summer, it is swimmable, but it's never what one would call warm.

After the hike, I met Shane and some of her friends at the "feeding grounds" (Game and Fish land). We played Frisbee and drank beer by the river while the dogs ran and played. That puts us at Friday night, oh what a night! I met up with Liz and Mel around nine o'clock for a night of bar hopping, which ended at 43North for a DJ dance party!

Saturday I met up with Shane for breakfast and helped her go shopping for an outfit for the Ski Ball, the black tie blue jeans fundraiser for the Jackson Hole Ski Club.

While looking for a pair of cowboy boots for her to wear with her new skirt we ran across Crocs boots. We had to leave the store because we were laughing so hard. We also went into the fur and leather store- wow! rich "cowboys" in Jackson are my new favorite demographic!

Went home and watched the Auburn Game, WAR EAGLE, even thought the game was horrible, at least we won. Went to Sidewinders to watch the Georgia game, sorely disappointed in the outcome of that game! But there were some good plays: like the 80 yard touchdown run (4th quarter I think). Honestly, the game, although I hate Alabama and wanted Ga to win, really wasn't the fun part of the evening, it was being with friends (from the south) and drinking whiskey and pretending we were in the south for football season. After the game, the evening turned to another night of beer drinking and bar hopping.

Sunday, was a day of rest, as it should be. Caught up on Entourage, Californication, and Dexter. All fantastic shows that I highly recommend if you have HBO or Showtime.

Today: back on the job hunt, I applied at Jackson Hole Groceries on Thursday, and spoke to the woman in charge of hiring, she said she would call today or tomorrow, so I may run by there and see if we can chat today. Have plans to go to the dollar store and get some stuff for the new house (we move in weekend after next!!!)

That's about it guys, I promise to be more entertaining in the future, less list-y... but I'm at a loss for creativity at the moment.

Yellowstone

Sunday Ramblings...

Fist off: Auburn put up a hell of a fight last night! Too bad it wasn't quite enough. I really have nothing more to say about Saturday's game.

Update on the Roommate/Housing front:

Nathan bailed on Shane and I, a room came open in a house with some of his friends and its month-to-month which worked out better for him, so that's fine. Shane and I are back on the hunt, just the two of us.

BUT yesterday I got a call from a girl named Liz, who has one other roommate and they are trying to fill a five bedroom house. They want $540 a month plus utilities, and it's ON THE RIVER!!! I'm going to look at it Tuesday afternoon, hopefully it will work out.

Jobs are still nil. But I am fairly confident that come October, when the snow starts falling and people start leaving, there will be more jobs that open up. I thought that the winter would be the big season here, but as far as people who LIVE here, there are less in the winter, more tourists, but less "locals" in the winter.

I think the snow should start falling soon. We got a little dusting up on top of the mountain yesterday. The leaves are changing, and it's not as pretty as, say, North Carolina in the fall, but it's quite breathtaking none-the-less. There's not a lot of reds and purples like you see in the east, but tons of golden, majestic yellow everywhere.

In Elu news:

Elu has a new calling! She is now a "ball dog." Whenever Lola goes out to hit tennis balls, Elu goes with her. She waits at the net for Lola to serve the balls

Then she runs after the ball and brings it to the net, so the balls are all in one location when she goes to pick them up.However, sometimes there's too many balls to get, and her mouth doesn't seem to be big enough to fit more than one ball at a time!

In Tricia news:

I'm doing well, I had a rough day the other day, but I guess the rain can follow you anywhere. I didn't come out here to run away from my problems, I came out here for fresh air and wide open spaces and I've found that the air up here really does help to pass the dark times a lot faster!

I miss my friends! I miss my family, but I'm making new friends each day, and hopefully some of them will stick enough to make long-lasting friendships, no one will ever replace my girls and guys back home, but maybe I will find someone that at least fills the gap a little.

Ok, time to take a shower and deal with my dry skin... I should buy stock in Jergen's, if the stock market were a safe place to put my money =P.

Okay ladies and gentlemen! Have a happy Sunday!!!!

A Country Divided (football style)

Just to reiterate my previous post, here's why I miss the south for football season:


Stadium Size:
NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.


Campus Decor:
NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.


Homecoming Queen:
NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America..


Cheerleaders:
NORTH: If you are slightly coordinated, you make the varsity squad.
SOUTH: You begin cheer camp at age two, complete with ballet, dance, & gymnastic training.


Getting Tickets:
NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus and purchase tickets.
SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus & put name on the waiting list.


Women’s Accessories:
NORTH: ChapStick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of Jack Daniels/Crown. Money is not necessary — That’s what dates are for.


Friday Classes After a Thursday Night Game:
NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they’re going to the game, Because they have classes on Friday.
SOUTH: Teachers cancel Friday classes because they don’t want to see The few hung-over students that might actually make it to class and throw up on their floor.


Parking:
NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking.
SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for The weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.


Game Day:
NORTH: A few students party in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting “Game Day Live” to get on camera and wave to the folks up north.


Tailgating:
NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance by “Dave Matthews’ Band,” who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off bottle of bourbon.


Getting to the Stadium:
NORTH: You ask “Where’s the stadium?” When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you’re near it, you’ll hear it. On game day it becomes the state’s third largest city.


Concessions:
NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup, filled to the top with soda.
SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup with the home team’s mascot on it, filled less than halfway with soda, to ensure enough room for Jack Daniels/Crown.


When National Anthem is Played:
NORTH: Stands are still less than half full.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.


Smell in the Air After the First Score:
NORTH: Nothing changes.
SOUTH: Fireworks, with a touch of Jack Daniels/Crown.

Commentary (Male):
NORTH: “Nice play.”
SOUTH: “*#@&@, you slow *&%$@#! - tackle him and break his legs.”

Commentary (Female):
NORTH: “My, this certainly is a violent sport.”
SOUTH: “*#@&@, you slow *&%$@#! - tackle him and break his legs.”

Announcers:
NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of his team.


After the Game:
NORTH: The stadium is emptying out.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker while somebody goes to The nearest package store for more bourbon. Planning begins for next week’s game.

ok gotta go... game's on!

WAR EAGLE!!!!

What's a girl to do....

on a rainy Saturday out west when SEC football doesn't come on TV?? Luckily the Auburn game will be on later this evening. The first football game on local television doesn't come on until 1:30- obviously these people do not GET college football.

I remember when I was little, all dressed up in my Auburn Cheerleader outfit, clutching my plastic streamer and getting out of the car down on the plains... The sound of the drum line warming up by the Eagles' cage made my heart leap! Walking into that stadium and seeing the players warming up on the field and the roar of the crowd getting excited made my heart feel warm. Even in the crisp air of late October, you felt all warm inside. As I got older, I learned to appreciate the players and the calls and learned to bitch and moan about bad calls... There's nothing like going to an SEC football game.

One year, I remember my cousin being asked to leave the sky box because he dropped the f-bomb one too many times (Auburn was losing and it was justified, but there were very important people around). It was a time with family and friends, yelling and screaming, sitting down was nearly impossible.

Out here, football is a Sunday thing, pick a pro-team and cheer along... but where is the heart?

The west has everything I want: scenery, outdoor activities galore, good people, good beer and wide-open spaces, but sacrificing football for all that? WOW! I'll tell ya, it's pretty tough.

on a lighter note...

Okay okay, I didn't mean to take my lighthearted and fun loving blog to the dark side by talking about politics. My family already thinks I've "gone off the deep end" when it comes to my political opinions, so I guess I'll leave that alone for now.

SO, on a lighter note:
I have found roommates! Shane, a 23 year old Jackson Hole local girl (by local I mean born and raised!) and Nathan, a 25 year old investment banker on sabbatical from Boston. We met for drinks yesterday evening and ended up hitting it off big time. I'm very excited about the possibility of living with these two. We all have a lot in common and a love for throwing parties, but also a mutual need to have our house NOT be grand central station. So, hopefully it will all work out.
and even better:
We may have found a house! (there are actually two that we are talking to landlords about at the moment)
It's a little out of our price range, they are asking $2,900 a month!! But Shane and I are each willing to pay up to $700. And Nathan said he didn't mind picking up some slack, but that's a lot of slack, so we're going to try and talk them down. But before you go thinking "DAMN! that's a lot of freaking money for a house!" let me tell you that this is a pretty reasonable amount to pay here in Jackson. A studio apartment the size of my kitchen back home goes for $750 and more. This particular house is ON the Snake River, 10 miles south of Jackson. It's actually a four bedroom, so we could get a 4th roommate, but I am wary of living with more than two other people...
However this house has a fenced in yard for the puppies, laundry room, and a huge patio/deck overlooking the river. I'm just saying...

The other house is a little high as well, maybe they are willing to come down just a little... but this one is on Snow King mountain. It is a three bedroom log cabin with a sauna and heated floors. HEATED FLOORS!! how cool is that?!?!

I haven't seen either one of them in person yet, so I'll be sure and take pictures when I do.

Job front:
bad day on the job front. I spent 3.5 hours at the local resort (I won't say which one to protect the company's reputation) interviewing for a job that in the end they didn't offer me because HE was convinced that i didn't want the job. Which is not entirely true. I would have enjoyed the job just fine, but today I had a severe cold and felt like crap and couldn't get excited enough about the job to convince him that I was going to be good at it. Needless to say I left a little pissed off that I had gotten my sick self out of bed to interview for a job that I "didn't want."

The current house:
We finally have GRASS!!! they sodded the yard today, and it looks great. Elu doesn't know what to do with the sprinkler system, it keeps catching her off guard, it's pretty funny.

The ego:
My head is okay, a little bruised after the job fiasco, but I will bounce back. As soon as I get over this cold/sinus thing I will most likely get the happy back fully.

Stay tuned....