Game nights

I am not a vegetarian. Not by a long shot. I'm also pretty adventurous with food and think I've been fortunate to have tried lots of different things.

But this weekend there was a first:

Bear.

I'd always wanted to try bear, but was hesitant because I'd heard it was really greasy. But at a BBq Friday night I had my first bite of bear in burger form and it was great!

The meal was rounded out with antelope kabobs, and at another bbq on Saturday I had deer sausage.

I guess you could say I'm "game" for pretty much anything.

Wrong W state?

It rained consistently for three weeks or more here - and it wasn't our typical summer afternoon thunderstorms either. It was dreary, overcast and cold, making me feel as if I'd been transported from Wyoming to Washington!

I think it's starting to break, though. We've gone from Seattle-like weather to our typical bright and sunny skies with passing showers later in the day.

I've actually spent time outside lately without a jacket on!

It's only June 18 afterall...

Change of direction

Something has really stood out to me recently: The way folks give directions here.

On the East Coast, where there are precious few mountains to serve as a reference, everything is about lefts and rights. The only time I consistently used cardinal directions was in giving an address because D.C., is built in quadrants: NW, SW, NE, SE. Same addresses can be found in several quadrants, so specifying is usually necessary.

In the West, however, people say things like, "Go east down such-and-such street, then go north on this-and-that street and you should see it on the west side of the road."

It makes sense to me, but it took a bit to get readjusted to this way of direction giving. Correctly positioning myself on map to get a route in my head just took a moment longer.

I'm pretty used to it now and find myself using a blend of the two. Regardless, I don't think I'll get lost either way.

Long weekend

I have spent the last four days with Brandon running Wyoming HOBY, a youth leadership conference for high school kids going into 11th grade.

OMG.

It was fun - BUT - I am so incredibly happy to be home right now. I'm tired. I need a personal foot masseuse, and I really want an adult beverage - I'm not going to picky, it can be of about any kind.

It's been a while since I've done a program like this - about nine years? I was an orientation program coordinator at UW about every summer I was there, and I oversaw the orientation program at Casper College, which was one of the duties of my first "real" job.

I spent nights in the dorms, ate at the cafeteria, did endless cheers, walked millions of steps backwards giving tours and making sure my group was still in tact, acted in skits, and generally made a spectacle of myself. I was (and pretty much still am) very good at that! And I loved it.

But this year I have mixed feelings. It just seemed extra long. Maybe it was the staying in dorm rooms (which takes you back a ways!), or the fact this was my only real weekend to myself before every weekend is taken and my summer's gone. It probably had a bit to do with the fact that I don't know this program, and had no idea how to run it...

But then, I get such a feeling of excitement about getting the kids to learn something. About getting them to discuss bigger ideas and issues.

I also really love making programs and events run. Brandon and I were given the reigns for the weekend from the person who planned it (who ended up having another obligation), so there were bound to be some glitches. But between Brandon and the old orientation leader in me it was all ok.

So...was it worth it? Well, to listen to the students with their parents I would say it was.

But I'm still about to have me a cold one.

"Second Life"

People can give me crap about being addicted to Twitter, but so far I haven't seen any reason not to like it. I get interesting information, learn about new things, and "meet" cool people who I might not have a chance to otherwise "know".

I'm just a very social gal. And while I still very much appreciate meeting and knowing someone "in person", I just enjoy being social in lots of different ways.

That's why I so readily agreed to meet up with @TheHollyLane yesterday when she asked me last week if I'd like to get together for coffee. She's seemed so cool online, and it sounded like a great way to meet a potential new friend in Cheyenne!

We went to my beloved City News and what I expected to be an hour long conversation turned into over two! We talked about work, living in Cheyenne, being Twitter and blogger addicts, I got the story on how she and her husband met (and it's a good one!), we talked about mutual friends and how we hoped to meet up again...

She's every bit as cool in person as she appears online and is very genuine and fun. And she treated to coffee! How nice is that??

Check out her blog here. She's got some great stories and you'll love reading about her life as a cowgirl!

And next time, Holly, drink's on me!