It's been almost three years since I was playing golf with my manager, Tim Flynn, from Turtle and Hughes in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He had invited me as an up and coming "Inventory Specialist" and another manager out to play a round of golf and lunch in the middle of the work day. It was the first and thus far only time I have ever played golf in a business setting and it was pretty exciting.
Sam Adams' were flowing and we were having a good time. I was guilt ridden though; my marriage had recently fallen apart, my teaching job was being eliminated from the budget, and I had recently discovered that I couldn't have children, I had decided on a change.
As Tim sat there and offered me a promotion to a manager's position, I broke down in a few tears. I was so extremely grateful to him. He had brought me on about half a year earlier because one of his bosses was a family friend of mine and told him to hire me just in the warehouse as a favor to him. This was his way of saying that he brought me on as a favor and now trusted me and respected me enough to offer me a manager's job.
I planned on giving him a month's notice. I was now giving him 3 month's notice. I was moving to Aspen, Colorado for a year to work at a ski resort.
It's been been much longer than I planned. The curse of the Ute has come true for me. Once someone comes to the Roaring Fork Valley, they don't want to leave it. I am writing this from a breakfast place called the Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville, West Virginia right now. I live in a tent. My first paycheck in over a month was only $112.00 I've spent nearly $1,000 in coming here to start a new job as a raft guide on the New and Gaully rivers. In my phone interview I was promised a quick training class and then I could check out on the river and start work. The quick training class ended yesterday. It started May 20. I planned on being here until October , but the curse has struck and I am going to be heading back in August. It's not only the curse bringing me back, but a half year teaching position at Basalt Middle School. Every time I go back to New Jersey, I visit Tim. He was a good boss and now I consider him a good friend. When I was hired for this upcoming position, the only reference that was mentioned in a conversation with my new employer was Tim. Thank you for that. Teaching ESL was never my favorite subject. I am extremely excited to be heading back to teaching, if only for four months. It will be nice to wear a suit again, as opposed to the bathing suits I wear so often now.
This was not my first time as a raft guide. My first summer in Aspen, my friend Jay hooked me up with a place in Glenwood Springs to be a guide. They charged me over $400 in addition to having us buy a bunch of gear we wouldn't ever use. Furthermore they made new guides show up every day to help and maybe get a trip. If we didn't get trips, we would go home with no pay, even if we had worked setting people up for a few hours. Is that even legal? Here at ACE, it's a bit different. We have free lunches every day on the river, which has turned into about 30 free lunches. We have free dinner most nights if we stay and help clean up. That's turned into a lot of prime rib, pig roasts, oysters, and shrimp. I eat better at a campground in West Virginia than I do in Aspen. Since May 12 when I got here I've paid no rent, no electric, no cable, and no internet bills. I'm certainly not saving any money, but I'm not spending too much either.
The title here though is a question. Am I poor? Yes, that's for sure. Am I happy? I am as happy as I was making more money and living in New Jersey. It's definitely possible to be both. But I am looking forward to going back to Colorado, making more money and having electricity again.
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