Greetings from Aspen!
T-minus 6 days and counting and I have mixed emotions about leaving Aspen, Colorado.
Fortunately, I have learned a lot from my internship this summer with Ritz-Carlton, unfortunately the majority of the lessons that I have learned have been what NOT to do in the hospitality industry. I have only 6 days left of work, and then I will happily never return to a Ritz-Carlton as an employee or guest ever again for the rest of my life. There were some diamonds in the rough and it will be hard to leave some of my coworkers. Rudy, our morning chef, Esther, our pastry chef, and Silvan, who does something (?), have become dear friends and advocates. I have also made some great connections to couches that I can sleep on around the world. I plan on visiting Poland (with Sylwek) and hopefully Croatia (with Mirna) during my stay in Europe and I can not wait to go to Argentina where my friend Josefina and her family are building a bed and breakfast.
Because of my disappointment with Ritz-Carlton, I picked up a second job working at The Belly Up (www.bellyupaspen.com). It is a 450 person concert venue in downtown Aspen that attracts small and large names the same. It is my favorite place in the whole town. Every seat has a great view and the walls are covered in pictures of past performances such as The B-52’s, Norah Jones, Seal, Blues Traveler, and Foreigner. My favorite concert was Hugh Masekela who is an African artist that is indescribably awesome, and my claim to fame was the night I was in charge of hospitality for Lynyrd Skynyrd. My coworkers are (as should be expected for an entertainment business) uniquely fantastic. We have had some really great times together playing Frisbee golf, going out, taking photos of the stars at the top of Ajax (Aspen Mountain) in the middle of the night, and dancing, hanging out, and working at work. They threatened yesterday to physically restrain me from leaving.
Two weeks ago my friend Sam Meek was in town from Connecticut- I actually met him here in Aspen a few months ago when he was visiting his uncle who happens to own a business next door to the restaurant that I work in. They came in for lunch, he asked for my phone number, and we absolutely hit it off. He recently went on terminal leave from the U.S. Marine Corps and is spending the summer traveling and sailing before returning to school which has allowed us to see each other a surprising number of times considering the distance. He is an eternal optimist who dreams big and is up for anything. As I keep telling my mom, he is not my boyfriend, but I wish he could be!
One of my very best friends, Kristin Cosens, will be here this Tuesday through Saturday and I can’t sleep in anticipation of her visit. We are going to go to my friend’s organic farm, do some hiking, hit up my favorite places, catch a couple concerts at the Belly Up, and ride mountain bikes down the Rio Grande trail to the Woody Creek Tavern. She has been working at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp all summer, and we have barely been able to talk for almost two months. Having her here will undoubtedly be cause for one of the best weeks in Aspen.
I got a call yesterday from a very close friend, Alex Poe, who is doing an internship for the summer at The Stockfarm Club in Montana. He has changed his flight plans and will be in Michigan during my 5-day layover at home. This means that all of my core group of friends will be together, in Michigan, for a just a few greatly anticipated days. I look forward to boating on the Detroit river (and having a beer with my family in Canada), eating Dairy King ice cream every day (with Megan Campbell), spending some quality time on my back porch, getting a pedicure (try standing on your feet 15 hours a day for 2 months, your feet would be nasty too), bargain shopping with my mommy, and visiting my sister whenever she is not too busy (she begins medical school today).
I am ready to move on to my next adventure, and depart for Oslo, Norway on August 17th.
I hope all is well at home, wherever your home may be.
Much love,
Alexandra
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