How We Met, Part 2 (by John)

Here's my addition to Kathleen's post from last week about how we first met, since not everyone knows the story (see her version here).

I was actually in a relationship and living with that person the first time I met Kathleen as an editorial assistant at The Denver Post, which was roughly in the late spring/early summer of 2004. I wasn't perfectly happy in that relationship, but being the nice guy that I am, I didn't even consciously consider Kathleen as someone I could date, since we worked together and I was already taken. (That would probably explain why I was such a jerk to her the first time I met her -- when another editorial assistant took her over to my desk to introduce her to me and I barely looked up.)

In typical fourth-grade schoolboy fashion, I was chilly towards her not because I didn't like her, but because I very much DID. I'd seen her around the newsroom before that and thought she was intensely cute, but the better I got to know her, the more close our friendship became. We had so much in common -- our tastes in music and film, our writing sensibilities, our (occasionally sick) senses of humor, our love of travel and food. And the more we hung out (mostly on work breaks, but occasionally for lunch or drinks) the more impossible it became not to want to be around her all the time.

When my relationship with my girlfriend at the time ended in January of 2005, I was a little distressed to find that Kathleen was already taken again. But when THAT relationship ended, it wasn't long before we were finding excuses to hang out, see concerts, talk shop and generally make eyes at each other. And then on March 21, 2005, after a night of discussing her visit to the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, we had our first kiss.

In hindsight, I'm extremely grateful we had that time to get to know each other as friends (even if we had secret crushes on each other), because despite the usual ups and downs over the years we've always gone back to that friendship as a way of relating to each other. I believe it's why we're still together (and getting married) more than half a decade later.

Things to do in Denver when you're staying downtown.

Since many people won't have cars, I've been getting a lot of questions about things to do/how to get around downtown Denver. Herewith, some ideas:

GETTING AROUND
Downtown's main drag is the 16th Street Mall. It's a pedestrian mall that runs from the Civic Center/Capitol area on the east to Union Station at the west. (Downtown Denver is oddly knocked sideways, but we'll just use "east" and "west" for simplicity.) The beauty of 16th Street is that the free Mallride shuttles run up and down at frequent intervals. Hop on a Mallride and you'll run down the spine of downtown. Most people will get off the Mallride at the Cheesecake Factory at Larimer, but resist the urge. There is much to do off of 16th Street, and the trusty Mallride will always get you back home. Unless it's really late.

Don't be afraid of walking. Denver is a very safe city compared to many others. There are some rough spots, of course, but you'd have to drive to find them. The most threatening people you'll run into downtown are the homeless folk and the eager college students with Greenpeace T-shirts. Walk east on Colfax and it gets a little shadier, but people mostly keep to themselves except to ask for money. Being willing to walk will expand your fun options a bit.

There's also Denver's bike-sharing program, Denver B-cycle. Stations are set up all over the city - you simply rent a "Magic Red Bike" from one, use it to get where you want, and return it at any station. Each station has a little kiosk where you can pay $5 for a 24-hour guest membership. Hot tip: If you use the B-cycle, it behooves you to return it to a kiosk while you do whatever you're doing. Of course, someone could borrow it while you're away and then you'll be bikeless, but you won't be getting charged for the time you're not using the bike. Usually the kiosks have plenty of bikes anyway.

City buses: There are two you may want to take in order to escape downtown. The 0, the Broadway bus, heads south of downtown. The Baker neighborhood, at Broadway and Ellsworth, is worth checking out for food, drink, and shopping. The 15 bus, the Colfax bus, will take you east of downtown to some quirky spots. East Colfax and St. Paul Street is a good intersection for food and bars.

The most important thing to remember when roaming about Denver: THE MOUNTAINS ARE WEST. Say it aloud with me: MOUNTAINS ARE WEST. If you can see the mountains, you know your directions. Of course, this is not terribly helpful after dark. Ha.

Here's a list I started compiling for a friend with suggestions for places to go. Most are downtown/in the downtown area.

A place to have a delicious beer: Falling Rock Tap House. (They also have excellent burgers.)
Hang out with frat dudes: all of Lodo (lower Larimer, Market, Blake streets)
Be fancy and civilized: Larimer Square
Cool bar: Double Daughters -- in Lodo, but usually low on d-bags
Brunch: Steuben's. It's a walk from downtown, but if the weather's nice, it would be pleasant. Just head east on 17th St.
Super-popular brunch: Snooze (if you don't mind a wait)
Drink Scotch: Pint's Pub
Pizza: Proto's. accessible via Mallride and walking
Eat vegetarian: Watercourse Foods or City, O' City (long walk, short walk respectively)
Margaritas!: the Rio Grande. Food's not great but the margs are delightful.
Mexican: D'Corazon. or Chipotle, ha. Denver is Chipotle's hometown.
Upscale Mexican: Tamayo
Dance: Beta (nightclub)
Empanadas: Buenos Aires Pizzeria
Baseball: Colorado Rockies!
Gay: JR's
Sweet view: From the state capitol building at the southeastern end of downtown
Nice bar patio: the Meadowlark (upper Larimer)
Ethiopian food: Ethiopian Restaurant. (Yep, it's just called Ethiopian Restaurant.)
Shoppin': Denver Pavilions, Cherry Creek Mall
Oldest bar: My Brother's Bar (Mallride and walk)
Hipster havens: Beauty Bar, the Hi-Dive, Larimer Lounge

How We Met, Part 1 (by Kathleen)

I figured that not everyone attending the wedding has heard our little story, so I thought it'd be nice to hear how we got mixed up in the first place.

Here's my version.

I stayed in Chicago for about a year after graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism. I was flat broke, working a mall-job without any real career prospects, and very upset about it. Finally, I threw in the towel and made trip back to Colorado in August 2003 to move in with my parents.

About six months later, a friend of mine from high school, Alaina, tipped me off to a job opening at the Denver Post, where two of her sisters worked. I interviewed for the City Desk editorial assistant position soon after -- and was promptly rejected. ("You're overqualified," they said. "This job will bore you." No, answering phones at a plumbing company is boring. Folding T-shirts is boring.) After that, I interviewed for a job at Aspen Magazine, in Aspen, which I almost got. The Anna Wintour-like editor passed me over for someone who was already on staff (*forehead slap*).

Shortly after Aspen Mag rejected me, I got a phone call from the Post: The girl they'd hired for the EA job suddenly up and quit. Was I still available? YES. HECK YES.

On my tour through the newsroom on my first day I was introduced to everyone on the city, state and national desks, then marched over to the Business News department to meet their EA, whom I'd be working with frequently. My first thought upon meeting the Business EA was, "Wow. He's cute. Really cute." He appeared to be about my age, with short blond hair and hip glasses. He, however, did not seem terribly excited to see me, and our introduction was short. He went back to busily typing as soon as I walked away.

"What's with that Wenzel dude in Business?" I asked one of my co-workers a few days later. "He's so grumpy all the time."
"Oh, he's cool," said Andrea. "He's not really grumpy."

The first time we talked for real was a couple months later, at a party the Post threw after a major redesign of the entire paper. John and I talked over free drinks and excellent food at the Brown Palace. As we chatted, we discovered a mutual interest in music, including John's all-time favorite band, Guided by Voices. I'm sure we talked about other stuff, too, but all I really remember is thinking to myself, "Wow. I really like this guy." 2 minutes later: "I really, really like him. Wow." 5 minutes after that: "Oh man. I really like him."

And then, John looks at his watch and says: "Oh, man. I gotta go pretty soon. I'm meeting my girlfriend to go to a show tonight."

It hit me like a cinder block. Of course. Of course he had a girlfriend. Guys like this always have a girlfriend, and that girlfriend is never me. I wouldn't say I was heartbroken, because we barely knew each other at the time, but I was pretty seriously dejected. John left the party, and I proceeded to drink too much for the rest of the night.

Over the next months (this was summer of 2004), we became friends. We didn't really hang out outside of work or anything, but we'd take smoke breaks together sometimes and email each other funny links and such. In the meantime, I dated other people. But all the while, my secret crush grew.

Eventually, circumstances changed, stars aligned, the prophecies were made manifest, whatever you want to call it... And here we are.


VIDEO BONUS!: John demonstrating Daisy's very ferocious-sounding playtime growls.

Transportation

Like the photo? That's us with some sort of hideous Dodge rental vehicle on a trip to LA a couple years ago. Shudder.

Moving on: Let us now discuss the various ways and means by which a visitor to Denver might make his way to the city center.

Since all of the main wedding activities are taking place at the Denver Press Club, which is a block or less from both guest hotels, renting a car won't be necessary to get downtown.

There are two main options for getting from DIA to downtown. Option the first!: RTD (Denver's public transport).

The RTD Skyride is a bus that will drop you off at Market Street Station in the heart of downtown Denver. You can buy a roundtrip ticket at the RTD kiosks at DIA - they're in the main terminal, after you get off the train, near the car rental booths. Roundtrip tix are $18.

Once you get off at Market Street, free shuttles go up and down the 16th Street Mall; the station is at Market and 16th. Hop on a Mallride heading east (towards the Capitol, Convention Center, etc.) and get off on your hotel's street -- Glenarm for the Crowne, Welton for the Hilton Garden Inn.

Visit the RTD Skyride site to hear it from the, uh, horseless carriage's mouth.

Option numero dos: Taxi.

There's a flat rate of $54.50, no matter which cab company you choose, to downtown Denver. The price includes all the annoying airport fees and such -- but not tip. Follow the signs to Ground Transportation and the taxis will be obvious. Not sure if they do a taxi lineup like in other cities, but they're always buzzing about. Here's DIA's official word on the matter.

Yeah, $54.50 is pretty steep. Our airport is far from the city. Think of it like O'Hare, but with tumbleweeds instead of traffic.

There are also shuttle services, car services, etc. if you'd like to investigate. More information on those here.

Renting a car will be valuable if you want to explore outside of Denver. The mountains are close by and easy to get to. Boulder is an easy 25-minute drive northwest of Denver. Denver itself has a lot more to offer than the downtown tourist scene, too, but that's another post.

Travel-themed bonus! Here's John and me on a ramble up to Aspen earlier this summer, going over Independence Pass with Guided by Voices blaring.





-k.

This is me in London.

Last year. Enjoying a tasty bag of Walker's Crisps. (Cheese and onion flavor, yum.)

At this very moment, however, I am in Denver. My email got hacked, which is why many of you got a strange email on Sunday asking for money. It's a scam! Don't waste your time on these jerks.

In the meantime, I've been having fun trying to work without my email. I forget sometimes how much I rely on it for so many things -- including wedding stuff. Eek!

Anyway, all is well. We're still marching along and trying to get better organized. We're newbies at this, obviously.

Registry

Should you feel moved to give us a gift, here's gift registry information:

We registered with Macy's and REI through the I Do Foundation. A percentage of the purchase price of our gifts will go to Urban Peak Denver, a resource for homeless teens. Click here to connect with the registries and learn a little more about Urban Peak.

We're also hooked up with Crate and Barrel. Registry here!

The list is still building. I think once John finds out we're signed up with REI he'll have a lot more gift ideas. ;)

-k.

Basics

OK, just for the record, here's the most essential info on the wedding.

It's on Sunday, September 5, at 5 p.m., at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm Street, Denver, Colorado, 80204, United States of America, Earth.

All of this will be included on the invitations, too, which we'll be getting out shortly.

Off to go try on dresses.

-k.