running on empty

Here's the foliage - but a rather tame image that doesn't reflect how amazing the trees were. The reason being that this was on my drive heading to Aspen and I pulled over at this point in the road because a stupid jerk was on my back through the windy roads (even though I was going over the speed limit already! jeez!) and decided it was a sufficient spot to get a quick picture. So I did. But then about 20 minutes later the trees were so much more dramatic and beautiful, but at that point I was too lazy to stop and just wanted to get there already. So this is what you get, which I think is still nice looking.

As for the weekend - it was so great! Aspen had perfect weather, was a really cute town, and it was great to see Anna and her husband and their friends from Denver who were so nice. It is amazing that I am talking so much praise for the weekend because the half- marathon? Yep, not so much fun. Let me see if I can sum it up for you: first two miles - uphill. Like, a serious uphill hike. Up a ski run. My lungs were burning at the top. I was concerned at that point. The next 6 miles or so - gorgeous. Running flat or slightly downhill through the golden yellow leaves and it was along a hiking trail so you are only surrounded by beautiful nature. Then around mile 10 - a terrible cramp decides to accompany me for awhile and my knee began to feel like it was going to snap in two from running down hills, which I can tell you is not good at all for your knees. I was in pain. From mile 11 to the finish line was what I would describe as pure hell. Running through an ugly field of mini hills that felt like they were as steep as that uphill climb at the beginning even though they were probably just small bumps in the road. I was pathetic and delirious. I didn't know if I was going to be able to run through the finish line. But with Anna's encouragement, I ran/hobbled my way through to the end. I am so glad it was such a beautiful course because otherwise I would have hated every second of it. Next time - I will remember how important it is to train. Or rather, there will never be a next time. I have been sure to remind myself to never do this again.

But the rest of the weekend was so much fun - we enjoyed the cheaper (read: still expensive but not $40/person) restaurants. Ate at the Nobu there which was delicious. Hung out in the cozy cabin. Relaxed in the hot tub after the run. It was wonderful. Good company and good scenery. I am unfortunately incredibly sore so I am limping around town today, but with a plan for ambitious stretching, I have faith I will recover. And my 11 hours of sleep last night helped in the recovery process.

And I should have a few more photos in a few weeks - I actually took one of the guy's small cameras on the run with me and snapped some of the shots so I'm waiting to get them so I can share it with you. So stay tuned for that.

milestone

It's my 100th post! I guess that's not too exciting, but also, I guess it sorta is. Again, I've got no new photos for you - this is from the festival - but I will after this weekend and my trip to Aspen. For all the north-easterners, I bet you thought you were in the fall foliage capital, but you may not know that the leaves are changing dramatically here as well and many have been known to travel here in the fall to experience it. So I promise to take my camera out after it's post-festival hiatus and capture the colors. It's so pretty.

On another note, please please think good thoughts for me on Saturday morning that I am surviving the half-marathon. I have pretty much given up on training. I did a few hikes in the last week, but that's it really. Once this is done, no more running for me for awhile. I'm gonna stick with hiking. I don't move fast anymore since I'm living in a town where the maximum speed limit is 15mph, and I'm quite happy that way. Lesson learned.

dog almighty

So last week I trained for the dog store, and today was my first day working there by myself. And I quite surprised myself when I actually sounded knowledgeable and answered people's questions about their dogs and the things we sell. I have the advantage of being an aunty to my sister's labradoodle Charlotte, and I didn't realize how much I'd learned from watching how they take care of her. I recommended leashes! I talked about dog experiences! I knew what a flossie was! I loved it. Granted, it's not the busiest store in town, so things do get slow, but at that point I either stare at the walls, read my magazines, or browse the dog accessory collection. It's great. I have been meeting some really nice dogs and people, and I think it's just so sweet how so many owners care so much about their dogs and spoil them silly (well-deserved, of course). It's wonderful how dogs have become like humans. Because they seem to be, in many ways, better than people. Or at least nicer. And happier to see me.

On a different note - I have tons of Larabars since they sponsored the film festival and donated a lot, and I have to recommend the Coconut Cream Pie bar. I just ate it and it was delicious. Buy it.

back again

I apologize for my absence, and I apologize that upon return from my absence I have supplied only this boring photo of the computers that were in the hospitality tent at the festival. That's the extent of the excitement in my photos at the moment. But on the other hand it's been an action packed few weeks so I'll catch you up in bullet point form:

-had Halyn in town visiting for a week - which was amazing to have someone from out of town in town to hang out with!

-we went to Blues and Brews, the festival every year with great blues bands (they were pretty much all amazing) and beer brewers where you could taste all sorts of beers over a 3 day weekend.

-I cannot drink beer again for many weeks.

-I am still bloated.

-I got two new jobs since my film fest job has shorter hours now - hostessing at a sushi restaurant and then filling in at the dog store where I have already met an 8-week old puppy! I think this job may be perfect.

-I booked my off-season flights! I'm heading home around Halloween, then up to Seattle to visit my dad, then to Hawaii to visit Leah (and get tan), and then back to Berkeley where I'll have Thanksgiving and my 10 year high school reunion. Then back to Telluride the 3rd of December. God bless off-seasons. I think I can get used to this.

-the half-marathon is next weekend!! Yikes.

And that may just be it! I promise I won't disappear again like that.

the tragic state of real estate

Well well well. This is the post I've been speaking of for awhile now. I find the time appropriate to talk about the dire real estate situation here since I watched a DVD last night about the destruction (in terms of over-development) of mountain towns like Vail and Aspen, which are turning into lifeless towns that serve as retreats for second home-owners who have priced out all of the people give actual life to the town. It really was a sad film, and it's sadder to think that this may be happening as we speak here in Telluride.

Take a look at the photos above and the homes you see there. The four on the left? Those are what you can buy for anywhere between $1.4 million and $1.7 million. No really. And the house on the right? That one is $1.25 million. But if you look closely, you will see that it is a wreck. Rumor has it that the floor inside is the same as the ground outside - dirt and rocks. It's been around for ages and appears to be almost un-inhabitable. But look how considerate the realtor is who listed this home - to the right, they have included their recommendation of what to do once someone purchases it - tear it down and build that model! Why of course - buy something for $1.25 and then pay for the tear down and re-construction! What a deal. I find it so offensive that almost 90% of the already overpriced listings explain how these homes should be seen as development potential - they can be torn down and rebuilt, they can be renovated then resold, etc etc. What has happened is that there are now multi-million dollar homes, hovering around the $6-7 million mark, with bowling alleys, home theaters, indoor hot tubs, etc. Over the top, unnecessary extravagance. And the irony is that this extravagance is being built by and for people who spend maybe a month total out of the year here. The rest of the time the homes are empty. The town is pitch black at night since no one is home.

Sure, you could say, what's the big deal? It's just like New York. It's so expensive there, but that's just the way it is. Well, yes. That is true. However in New York, there is income opportunity. There are too many companies to count where one can build up quite a large income and make enough money to afford the rent or mortgage. However, Telluride is a town where people work mainly in the service industry and most likely make minimum wage or a bit more, and the people who are lucky enough to have year-round, full time jobs often struggle to find customers and clients as people are mostly in and out here - for festivals or for skiing or just for vacation. Those who have retail stores have to pay exorbitant amounts in rent (those prices have skyrocketed too) and have sporadic customers who come in and hopefully buy enough to pay the rent. It's tough to make a living here, and unless you come from a wealthy family or have won the lottery, there is no way you are making enough money to afford a multi-million dollar home. It is so sad that there is no actual home in town - with no shared walls, with a yard, etc - for less than $925,000.

Also troubling is the fact that the market is slow. It's slow in the U.S. and there is no difference here, but these people keep their homes on the market for these ridiculous prices, not budging. It seems very rare that they drop their prices, so these homes sit there, empty and overpriced for many many months. The second home-owners with their homes for sale have no motivation to drop the price - they'll wait until they get the price they want - because they've paid cash for their place and aren't losing anything by leaving it there and they want to make their million. Which as you can imagine, takes even more away from the town.

People argue that you can live down valley, outside of town, for a much cheaper price. However, these "towns" don't have stores, they don't have anything really besides homes, so if you do live outside town, you have to drive windy roads to get to Telluride to do pretty much everything, from buying your milk to doing your job. Factor in the winter when roads are treacherous and you are adding on more travel time and risky, dangerous driving.

It appears that things are so transient here because of it - the people who love it here and are true locals can't stay because they can't afford to be here. No matter how hard they work, they could never buy a home here. I'm waiting for the day when they have no one here to service these rich second-homeowners because no one can stay. Maybe they will put up a stink then when there is no one here to make their latte.

Can you tell I feel very strongly about this? Sigh.

r&r

I went on what I will conclude has been the prettiest hike I've been on here (although the view at the top of Jud Wiebe for sure takes the cake). My co-worker and I went to Hope Lake - a hike that takes you through pine trees, over streams, up a hill, through a valley, and then to a beautiful lake that has crystal blue water. It was like finding a treasure when we came across the lake. And the weather has been absolutely perfect this past week. It's been a nice balance to the hectic week I had previously. Much needed.

Things have been super calm. My festival work has drained to almost nothing, I am back to 3 days/week, and I've finally cleaned my room, bought groceries, all those super exciting things that didn't get done in the past few weeks. Breathing in....and out...

Half marathon training is back on but terrible. Terrible in the sense that my previous training has worn off and it feels like I'm almost starting from scratch. But I'm going to do it if it kills me. Yes sir, I will.

Also in more exciting news, at my sushi dinner a few weeks back, I got the best fortune ever in my fortune cookie: it says "An enjoyable vacation is awaiting you". It thrilled me to no end, and then I took it on as a challenge. A challenge I am thoroughly enjoying. Over November, during the off-season, I'm going to go to Hawaii! To visit the Moensi! Purely to be a guest of honor on their blog. And to see their dog Scout. And of course also to see Leah and Jason. Oh and to get tan. Did I mention that? I'm so excited. I'll also head up to Seattle to visit my dad and see his dog Ollie. I think I subconsciously plan my vacations based on dogs. Which makes total sense.

This was a very boring blog post so I apologize. Just stating the facts. Reporting the news. Updating the stats. That is all.

and then there were none

Well I have been waiting for this week for awhile now, where I could say that this festival was all over. So I am breathing a big (massive, rather) sigh of relief. It was stressful even before day one, so that was not a good sign and caused me much paranoia and grief, but in the end looking back on things, it wasn't so bad. Hahaha I always say that when things are over. Bring me back to a week ago and I would never have imagined that those words would come out of my mouth.

So for my wrap-up, I will give a synopsis of my time, the movies I had time to see, and the food I ate (delicious stuff).

Basically from day one, my duties were to take photos of setup of the events (to document the sponsorship fulfillment and to show potential sponsors), work some of the events, and take photos of the ambiance of the festival. Sounds not too bad, right? Well, factor in my lack of confidence in my photography, the terrible lighting (enough to make me sick - it's so lame, but there's nothing that makes me want to throw up more than a) taking photos after dark with lots of uneven tungsten lighting or b) when the sun is so bright that it hurts and there are only intense shadows and highlights - ahhh photography kills me sometimes), and my fear of being intrusive when taking pictures, and you have a recipe for disaster. I can't complain - many people would love to be able to do this, and it wasn't the worst thing I've ever done, but I did come to the conclusion that I am not an event/wedding/documentary photographer. I like things I can plan out.

Anyways, the events were really great. Amazing actually. First off was a dinner for the filmmakers at an amazing home in town. (*A side note - I may be referring to money a lot in this post because I have now been surrounded by people who have a lot of it for the past week and still cannot comprehend that people live this way) This home overlooks the town, and if you liked, you could actually sit in the gorgeous hot tub on her back patio and watch the view. Trust me, I was tempted. The mirror in the grand room (ballroom, whatever you want to call it) I am sure costs more than what I would make in, um, two months I would say. The #1 food of the night (that's the best way to do this food wrap-up): peanut butter and chocolate balls. YUM. There I had my first celebrity sighting, Greg Kinnear, and unfortunately all I could think of that he had done was Stuck on You so I wasn't as excited as I would have been if I remembered he was also in GOOD movies, like Little Miss Sunshine. Also in attendance was Laura Linney, Salman Rushdie, and many talented filmmakers who unfortunately get less of the glory than the actors do.

Anyways, I need to keep this moving along...the next day was the brunch at a beautiful ranch, where I again took photos and had the lovely job of greeting all those who came. Fun! Lots of animation on my part: Welcome! Lovely to have you! So glad you could make it! After, my face hurt. There I saw the same people from the night before, plus Tracy Chapman! As in, the soundtrack of my junior high experience! A delight. The day was perfect and the food again, great. Later on that evening was the feed on Main Street, where they block traffic and all passholders can have free food and drink and mingle. This was my favorite event of the weekend. Food of the day? Lasagna.

Then it was time to crash, as I had to take photos at 7am the next morning. Crazy talk, you say? Nope, that's when the students who attend the education program were having a seminar I needed to take pictures for. Bright and early. It was interesting, but early. And thus my exhaustion began that lasted throughout the weekend. It was not helped by the fact that I spent my days running around making sure I got photos of everything. EVERYTHING! Well, not everything. Most things. Next on the agenda that evening was an event at a restaurant which my sister and Wayne and friends got to go to since we needed more people. It's funny to see how quickly people agree to put on some fancy clothes and get ready for something when they hear they will be getting free sushi and cocktails. Impressive. Food of the day - everything there. They have amazing food. And mojitos! That night we watched a free screening in the park of Pirate for the Sea - an amazing movie about an amazing man who does wonderful things for sea animals. He is a hero. Next, time for sleep.

The next day was the longest day in the world, getting up for a pancake breakfast at 7:30am to take photos (but the pancakes were delicious - food of the day), heading out to take more photos throughout the day (can you tell I'm trying to speed this up? I apologize - this is a long one), managing a workshop that took place to make sure everything was set up ok, then heading to an event at another restaurant where I took photos (it was so dark inside! terrible!), and oh no - the night is not over yet, even though at this point it's 7pm. Sleep would have been nice, but It was time to work the door at the big party that everyone tries to sneak into even though there is a strict list of who is allowed to attend. (A side note - I hate stuff like this where there is a list and people get turned away - so uncomfortable. Oh and also, it's raining) So when the event begins at 10pm, people are coming and coming. Oh yes, and coming. I am tired, and I am cold. And my co-workers were nice enough to let me go home early at 11:30. I was so appreciative.

And then the last day! At last! The day when I was panicked that I didn't get all the photos I should have gotten over the weekend and this was my last chance. As in, no possibility for these photos again until next year. The pressure - do you feel it? So I rushed around, became aggressive about asking people to pose and had no shame in shoving my camera in people's faces. Also that day was the Labor Day Picnic which was great, where the food of the day was the sundae bar! Haagen Dazs gave the ice cream and they had all the toppings you wanted. Which in my book, is heaven. Otherwise the food actually stunk for me, because Omaha Steaks sponsored it which meant there was lots of steak. All being grilled by big, burly men, which I found funny. So my lunch consisted of bread, pasta salad and potato salad. My bloated stomach felt wonderful after that. Later that night was the staff party, and sadly enough, I was asleep before it even began. How's that for fun?

As for movies, I didn't get to see any over the weekend but they have been running a few after the festival for those who are still around. I saw Flame and Citron - a Danish film about the Nazi resistance - synopsis: brutal, stressful, interesting, confusing, well-acted, sad. Next film was O'Horten - a Norweigan film about a train engineer who has to fill his time after he retires and gets into some quirky situations - synopsis: cute, slow, charming, with lovely music. Lastly was Gomorrah - an Italian film about the mafia/gangs in Naples - synopsis: BRUTAL, scary, sad (in a way that makes you sad for the world), fascinating, full of guns and violence. All had subtitles, which makes it hard when you want to shield your face from the violence on screen but still need to read what is being said. Try that one. Apparently the big film this year was Slumdog Millionaire, but that one was packed and I didn't get to see it. But you heard it here first. It's coming out in November and wasn't technically part of the program, more a sneak preview before it heads to Toronto this week. Telluride must have some good powers - we got it first.

So. I'm sure I missed 95% of the weekend in this summary, but I think this entry has gone on far too long anyways. If I think of anything good, I'll let you know. Otherwise, PHEW! It's all done.