wyo-ming

why, o ming?

this post isn't actually about ming, but evan came up with it and i thought it was clever. so im using it.

wyoming is impossible to get used to. not just the bi-polar weather but just the majesty of the scenery keeps your head swiveling on car rides or hikes because you just don't want to miss a view. you're so busy trying to capture the carpet of green grass, austere lime and dark trees, rivers, and whatever snow-capped mountain range that is running alongside you that you almost forget to look for wildlife. almost. when meghan and i drove to her house in cora my first week here she pointed to a moose on the side of the road that was just gaping at oncoming traffic very stoically. only when we were whizzing past it did i realize it was a statue. nice, ari. she said that was the longest anyone had gone believing it was real. really nice, ari. apparently evan fell for the same hoax further along the highway where there is a herd of fake buffalo on a ridge. one of them is an albino. crazy cowboys and their practical jokes on us city simpletons.

ok, the weather. one day we watched a great two-hour thunder and lightning storm on meghan's deck. it was going four different directions at once. one minute it was 60 and purple outside, and the next there was 30 mph wind and white hail that blanketed everything in sight. her horses would freak out every time there was a big clap of thunder so they would take off running. it was a beautiful sight, although i did feel bad they were getting pelted with hail. yesterday was sunny and we went hiking in grand teton national park and we saw so many animals. brett looked them up online when we got back. we saw three or four grouse birds and about thirty gazillion stonechucks (relative of the woodchuck). they're like big furry gophers the color of red barkdust. and they're really friendly. i think brett has fifty pictures of one that was an arm's length away eating pine needles and staring at us. the coolest sighting though was a young moose that was ambling by. i cant wait to go on more excursions and camping at yellowstone, but coordinating schedules of everyone in the house might be a little tough.

right now ming is in california visiting dodo. meghan is in china. evan is staying at meghan's house and looking after her menagerie (except they're not wild, but still. three dogs, four horses, two cats. full time job). evan's two friends, tim and sean, are visiting, as is brett. haha, the house is in a constant flux.

im working fulltime at shades cafe off the center square in town.... all the food is homemade fresh, the ipod has artists like beirut, architecture in helsinki, sufjan stevens, fleetwood mac, the shins, etc. the people are all really friendly and down to earth. lots of regulars come in. i get tons of free food, and hella tips. needless to say, this is the first job i've ever liked. haha, i guess telefund and canvassing last summer isn't really a hard thing to beat in a comparison, but still. life is really good right now. im hanging out with a co-worker later until the wee hours (drinking and art galleries and dancing), but before that i'm off to go hike snow king, whose trailhead begins on the edge of town. up and down, man.

ahhhhhh, summertime. i finished the twilight saga. the last book was legitmately good i thought. it's embarrassing how many times i think about it. last night i actually had a twilight-esque dream, where i was bella-esque... yikes