Things I've learned living in Arizona...

So in barely over 3 weeks I'll officially have lived in Arizona for one year. I was just chatting with a hotel guest about my move here. This man moved from California to France and has been there for 10 years and he moved for work. I moved from Colorado to Arizona for no good reason and I told him I'd be scared to move to another country and he said it was braver to do what I did. I'm not sure I agree with that but I like to think I'm a brave soul. This has nothing to do with my post, I just want you all to know that someone called me brave. (I'm not known for my courage I don't think.)

The point of this is that I started to reflect on my time here and what I've learned and there haven't been many lessons, but still, my year here has to count for something.

1. Sunsets and sunrises are exceptional here. I heard in some song once about painted Arizona and it's true, sometimes I look at the sky and it's colors and it really looks like a painting. I love it and that alone could keep me here forever.

2. It wasn't nearly as unbearably hot as I was led to believe. Don't get me wrong, it was friggin hot, but I survived it even without AC in my car and have no plans to leave before next summer.

3. I actually do like watching The Biggest Loser. I've started a ritual with my roommate Chelsea and I really didn't want to watch the show at first, I'm not sure she knows that, but I was home and nothing else was going on. And I did really start enjoying it. Even more I like spending time with my roommate and the last couple of months we've had my friend Carrie staying with us and while she sleeps during most of the 2 hour episodes, it's fun when she ventures out and tries to figure out all the things that took place in the episode the previous hour and a half.

4. I miss my family. When I lived in Colorado Springs I lived in the same town as my parents and most of my siblings. And just ask them about it and they'll love to tell you how I was never around. I really spent most of my time with friends and often would leave family gatherings early to meet up with friends. I didn't think it would be that big a deal to move away from them and if anything, the guilt about not going over, more specifically the never ending conversations about how I never come over, would end. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I really missed at least the option of seeing my family more. We recently just had a not ideal experience and I hated not being there and not being able to offer my support or do anything but sit at home and wait for news.

5. I learned how to love the hospitality industry again. I was really burnt out before moving to Arizona and never wanted to work at a hotel again. Since I've been a night auditor I've really been able to find my love for customer service again and I appreciate that so much.

6. I've learned how to be happy. I figured out how to overcome my insecurities and let things go quicker than I used to. It's been such a weight off my shoulders and I enjoy life and people more.

7. I've learned that floating down a river on a tube for 4 hours is one of the best things in this world ever...as long as you have an appropriate amount of sunscreen.

8. I've learned that the news can be as equally horrifying (beheadings, woman being beat up on their driveways) as it is weirdly mundane (a news report on a vacant house with dressers left on the driveway).

I'm sure there are other things, but life really is pretty much the same here as it was in Colorado. I still work at a hotel. I still go to church every Sunday. I still hang out with friends. And I still have a roommate who does ridiculous things, although I haven't asked her to get into a sterlite box and let me take pictures, that was just for me and Kayla.

But it's warmer here and even though most things are similar, I've found a lot more inner happiness and I'm pleased with my decision to move. Thanks for being so great Arizona.

Does Arizona Get Hot?

So Wednesday is the first day that I've ever seen an extreme heat warning advisory on the weather channel. But we have one. And surprisingly I'm a little excited in addition to being apprehensive. I do wonder if I'll be able to handle it but I hesitate to say that I think I can. Anyone who is from Arizona, has visited Arizona in the summer, or has even seen it on a map feels an obligation to warn me of the heat in Arizona. When I explain that I understand how hot it gets they feel the need to reiterate just how hot. And no matter how many times I've explained that everyone who knows that I'm new to the state has given me that exact information, they seem sure that I just don't understand the gravity of how hot it can get.

Now, I know that I am not a true Arizonian just yet. It's still June and besides the fact that the heat is just starting, I haven't even seen a scorpion or a cactus up close. But the idea of extreme heat is not foreign to me. I lived in St. George, UT for awhile, including the summer. It definitely got to be over 100 degrees and I know, I know, it isn't like Mesa, but any temperature over 100 degrees is pretty extreme. And I survived that and even flourished a little in it.

I think people must think that anyone who previously lived in a snowy and cold area like Colorado Springs, CO couldn't possibly understand what it means to have to stay inside their homes because of extreme weather. Now before anyone from Minnesota or Chicago or any other ridiculously cold area wants to tell me that I don't know what cold is, yes, I'm aware. But my snot has still frozen in Colorado. I've endured snow storms that have shut the city down, even if just for a night or two. I've had to make a run from my front door to my car so I could get away from the offensive cold just as Arizonians make a run to their car to get out of the heat. Here's the difference. While running in Arizona, you don't potentially hit a patch of black ice and slam on your butt on the way to the car. You don't have to trudge through 2-3 feet of snow because your apartment complex didn't think to put a sidewalk from your stairs to the parking lot. You don't potentially break through what you thought was solid ice and freeze your foot in a puddle. And after successfully, or unsuccessfully depending on what you endured, you don't have to then scrap ice off your windshield. Ice that is impossible to remove as a freshly picked booger you're trying to flick off your finger. Once inside the car I imagine it might take a while to cool a hot car down just as it takes some time to heat a cold car up. In Colorado though, you have to hope that your defrost will work quick enough to make sure all your hard ice scraping work wasn't in vain, and usually it was pointless. Then comes the joy of navigating the icey roads and worse than that, the other drivers on the roads who don't know how to drive on the ice.

In Colorado Springs I spent a good amount of time in my apartment avoiding the weather. The difference now is that there is a lot less work involved when I do have to venture out. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I'm also trying to convey to everyone that I GET IT. It's hot. Thank you for the information. I think I'll stay here for awhile anyway.