Zack - 1,620 miles, 42 hours

Dear Zack,

I finally got a membership at a climbing gym! Albeit one in Denver and only for one month, I think it is definitely safe to say I am hooked... big time. So far since getting my membership on the 5th, I've been at the gym everyday. Most days I climb, and pretty much every day I do yoga. Movement has become the most consistent aspect of my time in Denver so far (funny double entendre there as the gym's name is Movement, but I guess you wouldn't know that as I hadn't mentioned it yet). 

The gym is quite a bit different than the ones back home in Chicago. Not so much in the way it's built and laid out - pretty much all the same there - but more so in the people and how they approach their time at the gym. You can tell that the climbing gym here in Denver is definitely a place where serious climbers come to get fit and hone their skills. There are some first time climbers and a couple casual climbers here and there, but you can tell the majority of everyone has a goal in mind and is working hard to get where they need to be. 

That being said, you can also tell they are all still fun-loving outdoor nerds who love a good craft beer and can't wait for the weekend to get outside. And I don't blame them one bit. The amount of outdoor activities you can do within just an hour drive from Denver is unreal. My first weekend I was just riding my bike around looking for random things to do and came upon an amazing trail run in Golden that led to a spectacular view of the city - only 15 minutes away! I can't wait to explore more in the mountains over the coming weeks. For the first time in my life I think I can finally understand what it was like for you to grow up in Seattle, and I must say, I don't think I ever want to be so far away from the mountains again. 

Inside at work things are also super great. I've been on rotation with the food bank and they are having me help out in the warehouse. The work is pretty tough coming from an office job, but I really enjoy being on my feet and working with other volunteers all day. From a tech perspective they really have things on lock with their supply chain and all. Everything is tagged and logged with barcodes, scanned into the system, and then distributed out accordingly. The only big time improvement I can see here would be in the form of robots (that's you!) but I think they're quite a ways away from that. Lot's of nonprehensile motion with the fork lifts and pallets so maybe that's something you can help them out with someday? 

In the coming weeks I'm going to get a chance to work in some other areas of the food bank and talk more with some of the employees about how they utilize tech in their day to day. I'm excited for those conversations and to try out new work, but for now it's great to know all the food we prep for distribution each day is making a difference. 

I hope the Chicago summer is still going strong and you're able to make lots of trips up and down the lakefront trail for the both of us. Can't wait to hang out here sometime soon; miss you already my man. 

Love,

Jonathan