Denver, houses, and a new job

For the past couple of years I've been thinking about going to Denver to see if it might be a good place to settle in five or ten years, so this weekend I finally made the trip. The city itself is shockingly similar to Portland; both have active downtowns, large urban parks, and light rail systems. They've also undergone a period of urban redevelopment that has transformed large swaths of industrial buildings into a livable mix of shops, restaurants, and lofts. Between the two though, I have to give it to Portland. Denver has some good parks, but it's on a flat, dry plain 30 miles from the mountains. In fact, it seems closer to a midwestern town than to a mountain town. Perhaps due to the geographical limitations of being wedged between a river and the hills, Portland has had greater success in creating a dense, vibrant downtown. Plus, there's no ocean in Colorado.

After checking out the city, I headed for the Rockies. It was a great time to go. The leaves were turning and the mountains had a bit of snow, but it wasn't too cold. On Sunday I checked out the Wild Animal Sanctuary, which cares for abused and abandoned exotic animals. They have a ton of tigers, a leopard or two, grizzly bears, black bears, lions and more. You couldn't get too close, but it was worth it to see the tigers and support a good cause. All in all, it was a great weekend.

When I got back to LA, I managed to do a bit of house hunting and finally got pre-approved on a mortgage. Hopefully I'll be in my first house before the new year. I also started a new job at Experian Interactive Media. The people are great! I really like the team and think I'll learn a lot in this new role.