AtomJohnson Blog

I’ve been a new home owner now for about 12 hours and I gotta tell you, it feels great!  I am more relaxed, I’m more limber, I’m more alert, I’m house rich, I’m cash poor….all around, I just feel great!

The closing was almost delayed because I neglected to remember that i had to have certified funds at close.  I guess you can’t just write a personal check anymore for a house.  The days of a handshake and a smile have been replaced by electronic fund transfers and multiple multiple carbon copies.  After some finagling and asking to ’speak to the supervisor’ about nine times, I finally was able to go into a bank here in Colorado and have them tell the lady in Virginia that the name on my license is ‘Adam Johnson’ and that the guy in the chair (me) looks just like the guy in the picture on the ID.  As you can imagine, it was all very official.

So, my move-in date is now set for October 12th.  That is less than two weeks away!  I absolutely cannot wait!  I’m sure pictures of the new place will somehow creep its way onto this blog….

As many of you know, I will be moving into the Wild Sage Cohousing Community in mid-October. I just received a link to the community policies, budgets, expenses, etc. One document that really interested me was the vision statement document. As I read the vision statement I beamed with pride to be part of a community that has such an amazing vision. From everything I’ve seen and everyone I’ve met, they are truly living in accordance with the vision.

Wild Sage Cohousing Vision Statement

We are a community of individuals that supports connections and relationships at all levels, consciously seeking and valuing diversity and the challenges it brings. We look beyond ourselves, and our time, striving to create a better world for the seventh generation and beyond.

Diversity: We define diversity as differences in age, culture, economics, ethnicity, family structure, physical ability, sexual orientation, and spirituality.

Social: We seek a balance between noise and quiet, interaction and solitude. Through shared resources and activities we promote joy, growth, and connection.

Our community values: integrity, wisdom, health, and accountability.

Environment: Our community is not isolated, but integrated into the larger community. It is open, safe, green with plants and trees and provides a balance between public and private, using sustainable materials and practices whenever possible.

What a difference a day makes… Yesterday I was biking in what seemed like high desert and today I was hiking in what seemed like very, very deep snow. Sadie and I arose early and headed up to the Indian Peaks Wilderness for a hike up Pawnees Pass. We got as far as the bottom of that trailhead before realizing that without snowshoes, we had zero chance of making it up. I must say I tried and several steps in snow up past my knee made me realize that a few miles of that probably wouldn’t be much fun. We still had an incredible day though playing in the wilderness (at lower altitudes).

See the entire set of pics here…

What a great Saturday! After watching a movie on my Mac and hitting the sack early last night, I got up early this morning in order to be up in Boulder by 8am to watch the English Premier League games at Amante. I threw my mountain bike in the car per chance it was dry enough after the games to go for a ride.

Watching the games at Amante was great as usual. As it is getting colder, much of the Spandex was longer, but there was more Titanium and Carbon Fiber parked outside the front door than I ever thought I’d see in one place. Once again, the happy bikers filled their tummys with coffee and bran muffins before sititng in a tiny bike seat for hours. I guess if I stop to think about it, this is the exact same thing that I did today.

So, after the games, I headed West up Flagstaff road to Walker Ranch. While unloading my bike, another guy pulled up into the parking lot and began unloading his bike. We chatted for a minute and then agreed that it’d be best to bike with company, so we headed out onto the trail. His name is Matt. He is from Boston and has lived in Boulder now for a few years now. It turns out we have a ton in common….right down to the fact that we’ve both ridden bicycles across the United States.

The ride itself was amazing…and amazingly difficult. It was not too technical, but it had some ridiculous climbs. My legs were on fire and my lungs were ready to explode. The arduous climb uphill was rewarded with an equally incredible downhill. The downhill was rewarded with a crystal clear trout stream at the base of the descent. I’ve been reading alot lately about combining mountain biking with fly fishing. It mad total sense today. I would have loved to have had a fishing rod out there. However, I did not, so we proceeded to climb out of the valley again. Somehow we got a bit lost on a loop trail and ended up backtracking the entire way back that we had come. That amazingly fun downhill turned out to be less fun uphill…but a great workout. After about three and a half hours of biking, I was definitely ready to put the bike in the car and head to my favorite burrito joint for a meal as big as my head.

As I was loading my bike up in the car, a Subaru stationwagon pulled into the lot with signage that read EcoHandyman. I had seen this car around Boulder alot, so I started to ask the guy about the business. In talking with him, it turned out that he knows and works with the guy who I’m buying my house from. He also helped build the kid’s playroom in the common house at Wild Sage. It is nice to see how easy it is to meet like-minded folks in Boulder. I’m quite certain that I’m going to love it there.

On my way home I stopped at Christy Sports to try on some more ski boots. The pair I picked up at Sniagrab were pretty uncomfortable. I realize that ski boots aren’t supposed to be your afterwork comfort shoes, but there is a happy medium somewhere between bedroom slippers and Japanese foot binding. I found a pair of Nordica boots that feel amazing on my legs and feet. The guy at the shop was much more knowlegable than the guy at Sniagrab. So, I am much more excited than before about skiing. I was totally psyched before, but part of me knew that my legs and feet were likely to be in a ton of pain at the end of the day. I am happy knowing that I’ll still be able to walk after a full day of skiing.

So, it is early to bed again tonight. Sadie and I are planning to get up early and head out to Indian Peaks Wilderness again for a long hike tomorrow. I hated leaving her at home today, but it would not have been fair to leave her in the car for four hours while I watched the games. It’ll be nice to live near Amante so I can get Sadie for biking after the games. Here are some pics from the biking today…

I am eight days till closing on my new house in Boulder. I could not be more excited about the move. I had my inspection on the house yesterday and the only thing wrong in the entire place is that the bathtub faucet drips when the shower is turned on. And my inspector did a very thorough job. He basically gave the building the inspection eqivalent of a strip search. I’m not sure that I could have asked for a cleaner inspection report.

If you’ve seen pictures of the place, you can clearly see that it is a gorgeous place in an amazing setting. However, what the pictures don’t say is that the house is in a cohousing community. As I tell people this, most people immediately think commune…something on the order of bunk beds, uniforms and kool-aid. I can’t say that I’ve had an easy time myself understanding exactly what makes cohousing different from a regular condominium complex. From my initial perspective, I could see that everyone had their own place with enough space and resources to shut themselves out from the rest of the world if they chose to do so. Outside of your own house, the community shared common grounds and facilities in the Common House. I knew that these communities are generally sustainably built. I had also come to find out that the HOA was community managed. It was not until tonight though that I really came to appreciate the unique complexities of a cohousing community.

Bryan Bowan, one of the community architects and the current owner of my new home, gave me a copy of the DVD documentary that was made about the design and development of the Holiday Neighborhood. It focused mostly on the Wild Sage Community itself. When you all come to visit, you will be encouraged (forced) to watch the film.

What impacted me the most in the film is the fact that the Wild Sage community members were actively involved in the design of the community from the very beginning stages. At one point, the documentary shows the section title of ‘Design Year Three’. These community members spent over three years planning out their future community with the goal of creating a community that had the least impact on the planet that it could possibly have. In fact, the overall goal of the community is zero emissions. Essentially that means that no fossil fuels will be burnt in order to provide power to the community. Through energy efficiency and clean energy generation, the community hopes to have zero reliance on fossil fuels. There are several other design decisions that were carefully calculated in order to create an environmentally sustainable neighborhood with an intentional focus on creating a diverse community where neighbors know and interact with one another. I for one am totally psyched to become a part of this amazing community.

Well, I got my skis for ski season today. After work today I went over to the largest ski sale in Colorado. The sale is called Sniagrab…which is bargains spelled backwards. It starts every Labor Day and runs until the skis are gone. Having been a few weeks since Labor Day, I was a bit worried that much of the selection would be picked over, but I did not want to just run in there after Labor Day and grab the prettiest skis. I definitely had some research to do. Fortunately, my buddy Mike was able to point me towards some good skis last night after Indian food. So, today I took my list and credit card to Sniagrab to see what was left. The surprising answer is that there was alot left. There were tons of skis there. I’m sure that many of the popular sizes in the better skis were gone, but they had most of the skis that I had on my list. I settled on a pair of Salomon Foil twin-tipped skis. These are supposed to perform amazingly in the powder, they are incredible in the ski park, and they can hold their own on the groomers as well. I think they’ll be a great first pair of skis to own. I’m sure I’ll demo some other types of skis this season and look to pick up my favorites at next year’s Sniagrab. I’ll be the guy camped out the night before labor day weekend waiting for the perfect deal on the perfect pair of skis.

After picking up the skis, Sadie and I headed out to Evergreen for a moutain bike ride at Elk Meadows. Once again, we had a blast. I’m a bit less tired than I was on Sunday after the road ride, but I’m sure I’ll still find my way to bed before 9pm.

Tomorrow morning is the inspection on the condo I’m buying in Boulder. If all goes well during the inspection, I can’t see any reason that I won’t continue with the plan to close on the 29th of this month and move in on October 12th. I am absolutely giddy about moving into my new place. As much as I hate to rush life, I’m really hoping that October 12th will go ahead and get here. Once I’m settled, you all need to start booking your tickets to come visit. I can promise amazing days of skiing at some of the best resorts in the country, followed by an amazing dinner, followed by drinks in the hottub under clear western skies. I can’t wait to see you all!

After returning from Atlanta yesterday I hopped on my road bike for an afternoon ride. It was a cool, crisp fall day in Denver. The mountains were crystal clear, the leaves are changing…it is my favorite time of year.

I rode about 40 miles along the Denver bike paths and was completely exhausted when I returned home. I cooked up a turkey tenderloin, ate a few slices and was asleep by 9pm.

I have just returned from four days in Atlanta in order to attend my grandfather’s funeral. This is my mother’s father, George W. Smith, or as we new him, Papa. Papa has been suffering from ill health off and on since his first stroke in 1993. Since that time he has suffered a few more strokes and each time his speech has continually gotten a bit worse. While unable to communicate the usual jokes that he would have ready in response to any situation, you could always see his loving spirit shine though. All he ever wanted to hear about was ‘you’. Anything that you told him, good or bad, would be met with a raise of the eyebrows, a generous smile, and at his least communicative, at least a high pitched noise of interest and approval.

When I went to visit him over Labor Day weekend, he was in very poor health. His body had been shutting down for months. He had withered away to almost nothing to the point that you could barely decipher a body underneath the sheet. There truly was only a fraction of Papa’s body still remaining, and what was still there was fading. I remember standing there trying to think of what to say to Papa. I knew he didn’t want to hear about how sorry I was that he was sick. I know that he wanted to hear about what was going on in my life, so I proceeded to tell him about Colorado and going to Lake Burton and work and Natalie. His face which was winced with pain a moment before suddenly lit up. His eyebrows went up in their familiar manner and he mustered whatever noise of interest, approval and joy that he could. That is the Papa I will remember.

The service at Westview Cemetary yesterday was short and sweet…just the way Papa would have like it. The minister that Mom and Joyce had selected delivered what I thought was one of the most appropriate sermons you could have hoped for. She spoke of how Papa was a “do-right” kind of guy, who at his core, strove to just do the right thing. He beamed love and positive energy to everyone that he came in contact with, expecting nothing in return.

There were not a ton of people at Papa’s funeral yesterday. Many of his friends have already passed and many who have not are most likely too old to travel great distances to attend the service. There is not doubt though that there were thousands of people there in spirit. Papa brightened the lives of so many people during his time on Earth. For some, it was simply with a flash of his infectious grin…while for others, it was a much longer lasting, deeper friendship. For me, he was my grandfather. He is the ‘stuff that I am made of’….

When I look back on who he was, how he treated others, how kind and polite he was, his unwavering character, his amazing sense of humor, his constant search of love and laugher, his infectious smile and positive attitude in the face of any situation…I am truly proud to know that he is a part of me.

Papa, you will truly be missed. However, you live on in the hearts and lives of all of us who knew you. I feel good knowing that right now you are seated around a table in heaven, eating BBQ and Brunswick stew, making everyone around you laugh and smile. We should all be so fortunate.

I had the unexpected opportunity to see Dave Matthews last night. When I say I had the opportunity to see him, I mean that I had the opportunity to see up through his nostrils all the way to his brain. That is how close I was last night for the show at the Pepsi Center.

One of my realtor’s other clients ended up with some extra tickets and was looking to get rid of them. I am usually not big on Arena shows, simply because the tickets available for a popular band in an arena are usually not the best. We saw Pearl Jam this year at the Verizon Center, and even though I had signed on for tickets minutes after they went on sale, the energy of the show failed to carry as far back as we were from the stage. It is a different scenario when you are only three rows back. Dave Matthews could fill an entire planet with the energy from his shows, so needless to say, there was no trouble feeling the energy thirty feet away.

The entire night was actually pretty great. The guy who had the tickets lives in downtown Denver and is also from Virginia. He invited me over for some beers prior to the show. His one bedroom condo is on the fourth floor of his building and has an incredible view of the downtown skyline. I couldn’t think of a better place to have some beer before the show. The icing on the cake is that we were able to walk to the Pepsi Center from his condo for the show. The next four hours were spent thirty feet from stage, followed by more beers and conversation while taking in the Denver skyline. It was definitely a concert that I will not soon forget.

Life is good! Right now I am sitting in my giant, green, fuzzy chair with a beer in one hand and my Mac in the other. I’m listening to iTunes through my headphones while a cool Autumn breeze pours through the window. I’ve just landed a few projects at work that I’m totally psyched to start. And finally, I’ve accepted the counter offer on the condo in Boulder….so, if all goes according to plan, I should be living in my own place in Boulder in mid-October.

I am surprised at how quickly Colorado has started to feel like home. I’ve lived in other cities for years and they never took on that comfortable feeling of home. I’ve lived here for 2 months and I already feel it here. If you recall, when I first arrived, I was stuck in a Friday funk. I was homesick for Virginia, I was not enjoying working remotely, and I was basically lonely. I can scarcely even connect with that feeling now. I’ve been spending most of my time here by myself and I am loving it. This weekend I hung out alone at Amante Coffee all day Saturday. Then I watched a movie at Mike and Ashley’s…again by my lonesome. Then on Sunday I woke up and went hiking all day with the dogs. Then I watched another movie by my lonesome. I gotta tell you, I haven’t even thought about it. I guess I’ve thought about it only so much as to think, ‘wow, I’m 100% alone and not the least bit lonely. It is a level of comfort with self and place that I’ve been searching for for a long, long time. I never imagined that I would find it here in Colorado, but I’ll certainly take it.

I finally got back out to the mountains again this past Sunday. Wilson, Sadie and I hiked the Chicago Lakes trail in the Mt. Evans Wilderness. The trailhead is at Echo Lake…about an hour from Denver. For people who don’t want to hike much but still want to see some amazing mountain scenery, Echo Lake is a great destination. Unfortunately, I had to be back to Denver in the early evening in order to get a Sunday night deadline completed, so I knew I had to hike at a pretty good pace. The hike was 10 miles roundtrip, so I had just enough time to do the hike and get back. I was slowed a bit at the first lake when chose the path less traveled. Sometimes the path is less traveled for a reason. In this case, it was less traveled because it ended with me hacking my way through about 100 yards of thick bushes and underbrush in order to get to the other side of the lake and back on the trail. In the end, I got back onto the trail and only lost a little bit of skin and my lens cap. I can replace both items. The Chicago Lakes were gorgeous. They sit within an amphitheater of snow-dusted mountain peaks. The lower lake is hard to get to in terms of distance, but the approach is downhill. The upper lake sits only a few hundred feet above the lower lake, but the trail is steep…really steep. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape and I was dying. I had to stop every couple feet for a hunkered-over breath. Once I got to the top though, I had the lake all to myself. I could have sat stayed up there for hours just relaxing and hiking around the perimeter of the lake…but…there was work to be done. Here are some pics from the hike:

View the entire set of pics here…