I'm heading east!

Hey all,

It's been a long time since I've written, although I make a point of checking this blog pretty frequently and have enjoyed hearing what everyone is up to.

I'm having lots of fun experiencing my first summer without work in a long time.  I know you all are doing the real world thing so I won't rub it in too much that I'm currently on a two and a half month paid vacation.  I spent the first few weeks in Denver where I got to see Toast for a few hours which was sweet.  The rest of my summer is going to be pretty much non-stop travel.  Jamie and I just got back from an 8-day canoe trip down the Green River in the Canyonlands National Park in Utah with some of my TFA friends.  It was pretty amazing, I think we saw about 10 other people total for the entire 8 days.  I'm back in Denver now, but tomorrow morning I fly out to New York.  Christa is meeting up with me and we're traveling around New York and New England for about a week so if you're around give one of us a call, I want to see as many people as possible!  When I get back I'm going to Lake Powell in Utah where my friends and I rented a house boat for the fourth of July, and after that I'm heading to Europe with my family for two weeks.  Being a teacher is rough :)

In all seriousness, I hope I get to see as many people as possible over the next few days.  I miss you all and if anyone has travel plans that take them to the Denver area, I'll be around after July 21st.  Taylor, I'll be in touch about Wyoming.

Hope everyone is still enjoying life in the real world,

Val

Good Afternoon

Hello Everyone,
I hope that everyone is enjoying or enduring the summer so far. Im sure you all know that I now have a fiancee, Miss Beccah Amendola. I am very excited about this, and you should also be excited about July 3rd next summer. I am trying to call everyone back and talk to people, which I will do at some point. We were out on Nantucket when I proposed and it was perfect. Not to mention that I was catching a lot of striped bass the entire time, too. If you couldn't tell, it was a great time in Nantucket. Escpecially since Jamie "condon metal" Goldring came out to visit for a couple of days, which were good times for everybody.
I am also leaving for Australia on Friday (26th) and will be gone doing some field work with my advisor and a couple of friends (other students) and I will be back in town on the 28th of July. It will be a long trip but should be very fun, I have my sat phone again, so send me a text.
When I get back from Aussieland, I will leave within the week in order to drive out west to Wyoming, where I will doing research on my project for almost all of August. If you want to get put to work or want to go camping for a couple of nights in the beautiful mountain uplifts of Wyoming, give me a call and we can arrange a rondezvous point.
This year has been great so far but scary since already a year has gone by (wow). Hope I get to see you all this year as much as the past one.

Cheers,
Taylor

Actually done with school!

So I finally graduated this past weekend, and now I can't just pretend I've graduated. I've survived my 3rd day of vacation but I'm bored already. Currently I'm just trying to make it through the 26th when Val arrives on the east coast. I have no plans until then, so if anyone has free time from work and wants to hang in the NY area, let me know.

I got a job offer for the Boston area which would start July 6th, which I'm not sure if I will take, but it gives me a positive outlook on the job front. Heads up, I may be looking for a roommate very soon. Also if anyone knows any structural engineers in NY or Boston, I'd appreciate the contact!

Alright well that's about all going on in my life. I spent the evening eating ice cream, potato chips, watching Slumdog Millionaire and drinking wine by myself and it was delightful. Oh and I ran into Caroline in Boston yesterday!

-Christa