The Boys Of Summer

            Okay, I think a lot of you knew that this post, or something like it, was coming. When I told people back home my plans to come here for the summer, one of the most common responses I heard was “you’re going to meet someone and fall in love while you’re there!”. Well, first off let me just say that the falling in love part has NOT happened, but I have met a lot of really great people in the months that I’ve been here. There are mainly three guys that I’ve met here that I’ve loved knowing most of all. I’ve wanted to make a post that mainly highlights them, and since there’s not a lot of news to share about today, I figured now’s as good a time as any to do just that. Here goes (and I’m going to write these as if I’m talking to the people mentioned):

            Tanner- I guess it’s appropriate to start with you since you were the first person I met when I came here. When you helped me carry my bags from the car into my dorm room on the day I moved in, I assumed you were a nice guy, but I’ll admit I didn’t expect that you’d become one of my best friends here. When we went on the Inspiration Point hike, you were the comic relief that kept me going. I love your lack of inhibitions, our games of rock-paper-scissors across the lobby on slow days, your willingness to sing “Man, I Feel Like A Woman” at karaoke, and the fact that it’s rare for a day here to go by without you giving me a high five. You’re a genuine sweetheart and an awesome neighbor.

            Jesse- Wow, there’s so much I can say about you. Not long after we met, you told me that you have a habit of taking on a big brother role for your friends, especially your female friends. Well, you were right. The more we’ve hung out this season, the more I’ve started to see you in a big brother kind of way. Thank you for dragging me along on the Inspiration Point hike with Tanner and Kelsey even though I originally said I didn’t want to go, making coffee for us in the mornings, loaning us your tent to go camping, driving me into town when I needed to pick up some things, and grilling awesome food on the back porch when we got tired of the EDR. You’re probably the main reason that I’ve loved having a back door. Cristina and I got very lucky getting the room next to you.

            And Nate- The first thing I remember learning about you is that you previously spent time working in Australia, so I’m not going to lie, I kind of hated you to begin with. As we talked more, though, that quickly changed. I’m still pretty jealous, I admit, but it’s been awesome knowing you this summer. I loved taking my first hike of the season with you, quizzing you and David on animal facts when the desk was slow, and creating phrases about you that sounded like Chuck Norris jokes (as Tanner said, if God came down to earth and saw Nate, he’d be like, ‘my work here is done!’). One of my favorite memories of this summer was posting those first few pictures of you on facebook, followed by a bunch of friends from back home contacting me demanding to “hear more about that Nate guy”. I also just have to add that, for the rest of my life, whenever I hear “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”, I’ll think of you.

            Well, there you have it. I’ve met other cool people this summer, of course, but those are some of the main ones. Not much news here other than that. Tomorrow afternoon, it’s back into work!