Soooo good!  It was amazing beyond my expectations, which were ridiculously high.  And the freakiest thing?  My showing was packed, sold-out...and silent.  You could have heard a pin drop in the theater throughout the entire movie (or the quiet parts, anyway).  No talking, no whispering, no babies crying, no cell phones.  Just total, awed silence.  And at the end everyone burst into applause, which has never happened in a movie I've been to before.

Random observations:

Yeah, so I had a blast in Colorado. Plenty of hiking, animal watching, and more hiking. Plus, whitewater rafting! Which was a truly thrilling experience. Anyway, here are most of my photos, which include some very cute animals (prairie dogs! marmots!). And a couple of my favorites below the cut.

I don't know what prompted me to watch VH1's tribute thingy about The Who, but the old, shirtless footage of Roger Daltry is once again making me drool over his 70's abs.  Also making me remember what a huge Who fan I was in high school.

Also, I am freaking out about The Dark Knight tomorrow.  And it is one week until The X-Files.  OMGEXCITED!  Excuse me while I have my summer-movie-anticipation-freakout over here...

 I'm back in Missouri again, and I'm pretty sad to be back.  I really loved Colorado, and I know I'll miss the lack of humidity and ticks when I go hiking around here.  I'll try to post some of my photos later today, once I've gone through them all (I have soooo many!).  On the way back from Colorado, we swung up through Wyoming to check out Laramie and the University of Wyoming.  Their psychology PhD program was my first choice when I was considering going straight for a PhD. It is seriously a perfect fit in research interests.  Unfortunately, it is in Wyoming.  There are only about half a million people in the entire state, and I'm not sure if I could deal with being that far away from things.  Luckily I'll have a couple of years to give it some thought.  We also went up through the Badlands, which were gorgeous.


And I'm really irritated about a couple of things.  First I got an email from a lady claiming that she did not receive a package that I sent through Amazon.  I ordered delivery confirmation, and it showed that it was delivered to the correct address and everything, but because I didn't get signature confirmation I have to refund her money.  It has to be a scam but Amazon is set up to protect buyers, not sellers.  Sigh.

Second, my phone stopped working completely.  It made a full recovery after I dropped it in the river a few weeks ago, so I thought it was okay.  Now it does nothing, just a white screen.  I cannot afford a new phone right now.  Lame.

My boyfriend is obsessed, obsessed with Taco John's. We don't have them at all in Missouri (well, there may be a few in northern Missouri, but none near us) so he eats a ton of Taco John's when he's in North Dakota. Seriously all I hear about when he calls is Taco Tuesday and Potato Olés. And when he's in Missouri all I hear about is how much he misses Taco Tuesday and Potato Olés. So when we ate there for lunch yesterday, I jokingly said to my mom that Nick would find that more exciting than anything else we'd done the entire trip. I thought it was a joke, anyway. Then this conversation happened:

Me: We went whitewater rafting this morning.

Nick: That's cool.

Me: Yeah, and as we rounded a bend we spooked a bighorned sheep and he was really close to us.

Nick: Okay.

Me: Oh, and we ate at Taco John's for lunch.

Nick: OMGWTF?!?! Who was there? What did they eat? Did everyone get Potato Olés? Did they think it was awesome?

Heh.

I'll make this quick because internet at the cabin is fleeting at best, but vacation so far is awesome.  Animals I have seen: pronghorn antelope, coyotes, marmots, elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, moose, and many adorable ground squirrels.  I have done sooo much hiking, and I'm sore like whoa, but it's totally worth it.  Tomorrow Mom and I are touring the Stanley Hotel while Dad and Justin go ATVing, and Monday?  Whitewater rafting!  Hell yeah!

Also?  Vacation is very stressful and there are many fights when everyone in your family is a control freak.

Just checking in to say that Colorado is wonderful.  So far we've been to the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, and Red Canyon Park in Cañon City.  We are heading up to our cabin in Estes Park tomorrow.  Everything so far is so pretty, and I have tons of photos, but I forgot my cable (Linux hates my card reader...sigh) so I probably won't  have them up for a while.

Also, I totally embarrassed myself at the summit of Pikes Peak by passing out.  I have low blood pressure, so that happens occasionally.  I'm used to it, but it is still scary.  I should have expected it: low blood pressure + high altitude + an empty stomach = me on the floor surrounded by concerned strangers.  Oh well, at least it was a memorable trip...

And tomorrow I'm leaving yet again.  We're going out to Estes Park, Colorado for a week and a half, and we're leaving very early in the morning.  It should be a fun trip, provided that no one in my family kills anyone else.  Which is a very real concern.

Anyway, I'm bringing my computer on this trip, so I'm sure to be posting many gorgeous Colorado photos.

I just got back from North Dakota late last night.  The drive was exhausting (there is almost literally nothing between Sioux Falls and Fargo!), but the trip was great.  We ended up going to Winnipeg one day and Cass Lake in Minnesota the next.  As an aside, how much do I love Winnipeg?  It was seriously such a cool little city.  We wandered around the Exchange District for most of the time, and spent some time one the riverfront.  Also, we ended up spending most of the afternoon at the Manitoba Museum, which was awesome.

As for Cass Lake, it was cold.  It was seriously around 75 degrees outside and people were swimming and generally acting like it was 100 out.  Brrr.  But I got to go tubing, and didn't fall out at all even though Nick's uncle Bruce was trying damn hard to throw us off.  And they all made fun of my "southern" accent, which was okay because their accent was so much fun.

And, I wrote a letter to the state of Minnesota:

Dear Minnesota,

You are lovely, really.  Your trees and lakes are gorgeous, and your statue of Paul Bunyan sure is unique.  However, I will not be returning until you solve your little mosquito problem.  I'm not sure, but I don't think I have any blood left.  Please get on this issue immediately.

Yours,
retterin


I'll try to have photos up if I have time, but I'm leaving for Colorado with my family on Tuesday so I can't make any promises.  And I need to catch up on my flist; how huge it's gotten in just a few days away from a computer! 

I totally forgot about this until a friend emailed it to me!  A few weeks ago we were all downtown in Springfield.  I think it was a Friday night, and we were headed to Ernie Bigg's for drinks.  Along the way we saw this guy:



I mean, seriously?  Of all the "sinful" places to go judge people, you choose Springfield?  I'd hate to see how this guy would react in a city with an actual social scene.

Also I'm leaving for North Dakota tomorrow!  I don't really want to go to North Dakota, but I am looking forward to Winnipeg (yay, Canada!) and Minnesota is always pretty.  Also, whooooo road trip!

As promised, here are the photos from my kayaking trip.  I'm actually pretty disappointed in the way they turned out.  Though now that I think about it, I don't really know what I expected from a $5 disposable camera that had spent most of the day submerged in water.

Yeah, so those weren't great, but we had such a fun time and the river is gorgeous this time of year.  I really can't wait to do that again.

I'm so excited about going kayaking tomorrow!  It rained a bit today, so the river should be up enough to float fairly quickly.  Amber and I are taking the 14-mile float trail, so we should be out there all day.  I even bought a disposable waterproof camera to document the trip.  I have no clue why I'm so happy to be going; I mean, I go canoeing all the time.  But, kayaking!  Yay!

Also, it looks like I'm definitely going up to North Dakota over 4th of July (I think we'll go up the 2nd, and come back the 5th).  I hate making that trip (15 hours! 15 hours through mostly fields!),  but I think it'll be okay because we won't be spending too much time in North Dakota.  We'll be going up to Winnipeg one day and Minnesota the next. 

I've been trying to think of a way to make some money this summer, since I've all but abandoned the prospect of finding employment.  I've been selling some of my stuff on Amazon, which is actually making me quite a bit of money.  But I've also decided, at the encouragement of Amber, to try to post some of my photos on stock websites.  I don't know how much I can actually make doing microstock, but I may as well give it a whirl.  I applied at iStock, but when I submitted my photos I had a moment of panic thinking that I'd be denied.  I submitted my three favorite photos, but they are all landscapes and all of Europe, which I think will hold me back and it was something I hadn't even noticed.  I should have submitted a macro, too.  I think I may also take some photos around town and try to shop them around to the Chamber of Commerce and City Hall.

Also, Amber and I have made tentative plans for kayaking on Sunday.  Woot!

ETA: I guess I should actually post the photos I'm talking about...

How happy am I that the AV Club's TV Club is blogging about NewsRadio and The X-Files?  That, sadly, makes my summer.

Yesterday was such an amazingly gorgeous day, and I couldn't stomach spending it inside, so I ended up going to Haha Tonka State Park.  Haha Tonka may be my favorite place in the entire state, and it is definitely my favorite state park.  It is just soooo gorgeous, and it is luckily only about a half an hour from my parents' house. I ended up hiking for a few hours, and even went on a trail I had never been on before.  So gorgeous.  I don't really know of anywhere else I'd rather be in the Spring and early Summer than the Ozarks.  Sure, the people drive me crazy and the tornadoes get old, but it is so freaking pretty! 

Anyway, Haha Tonka picspam!

Still bored, still online.  So...meme!

This one is from library_of_sex, and I thought I'd give it a whirl.
Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.

Because I'm bored and have nothing to do for the entire evening, I thought I'd post my three main objectives for the summer.  They are as follows:

1. Learn to type faster.  To explain: I've never taken a typing course, and I am fairly slow at it.  I get by, and can type without looking at the keys, but it really is holding me back and it prevents me from applying for clerical-type jobs.
2. Wean myself off sodas.  This means you, delicious Dr. Pepper.
3. Learn to kayak.  A campground nearby rents them out for the same price as a canoe, and I've always wanted to hit the river alone.

Hopefully by only having three main goals, I can do them all.  If I'm not too lazy.

I have nothing that I have to do today, and it is the weirdest feeling. I really don't know what to do with all this time and it's freaking me out. I ended up doing very little. I'm so bored that I resorted to baking (hello, chocolate marble cheesecake), taking a nap, and playing with GIMP. I did manage to make several nifty stock photo icons and a pretty wallpaper:



Click to see full size

But, yeah, bored.  I might go to the gym tonight.  And Amber is passing through town, and she'll probably drop in to eat some cheesecake.  One thing I hate about living in this town for the summer is that all of my friends are at least 45 minutes away, and most are 2 hours away.  

Yesterday afternoon I accidentally left my phone in my car.  When I checked my messages this morning I find out that I have a job interview!  I have to call back on Monday, and I'm really excited.  The position is with one of the drug counseling centers in town, so it is a) something that uses my degree and b) not retail or a factory!  I really hope I get it, because I am completely sick of the job hunt. 

I also got The Savages on Netflix yesterday.  I had been meaning to watch it ever since it came out, but I never got around to it.  I thought it was really great, and managed to avoid a lot of the indie movie cliches.  And I suppose this is as good a time as any to admit my shameful, shameful crush on Philip Seymour Hoffman.  I know, but I can't help it; he's all ginger and cuddly.

Also I went to the gym again last night.  I did a half hour of cardio and a half hour on the weight machines.  I had completely forgotten how awesome it feels to go to the gym, and I think I'll go ahead and sign up on Monday.

I started going to the gym again last night.  I've found one that I really like here in town, and it has a program for college students where you can sign up for the summer only.  So, that's what I'm doing.  I've also convinced my mom to go, and I hope she'll stick to it.  It felt great, though, and I worked my shoulders and back really well.  So well that I was sore this morning. 

That's fine, but...

Unfortunately my dad wanted to go canoeing today, and I spent the entire day (about 6 hours) paddling the canoe.  It was great, and I really enjoy the river this time of year (we went to the Niangua, which is spring-fed and gorgeous) and the day was perfect for it.  However my chest, shoulders, and back hurt like nobody's business and I can't really move my arms.  Ow!