Ode to my neighbors.

I freakin' love my neighbors. Seriously. They are the best.

I've never lived in a place like this before. All other apartment complexes and rented cottages that I've inhabited in the past pale in comparison. The people in my complex are, if not really good friends, at least interesting and kind people.

So I live in a red brick building that is set back from the road...oddly, it's actually located behind a row of little houses. A long driveway leads to our secret complex, which has a branch of Boulder Creek running next to it and willow trees arching overhead. Next door is The White Building, which is where our property manager Dean lives. I don't know many of the people over there, though I think it's neat that the Andean flute player who busks on Pearl Street and has hair to the floor lives in The White Building.

In our building, there is Peter, internet guru for Crocs and organizer of our yearly Friday the 13th summer party, who regularly invites us over to play Guitar Hero and have some wine. James is one of the younguns...a Serious Writer who works with Josh and has a giant cat named Whomper Stomper McFloofin. Chad and Sarah are teachers, a bit hippy-ish, who like to sit outside in the sun on their days off. They just got engaged. Monica recently graduated from CU and is a fire-twirler...some evenings she can be seen in the front yard whirling her on-fire poi balls. She and her boyfriend are psychology majors who are convinced that love is just a complex series of chemical reactions. Jessica is a vegan chef in a local restaurant. She keeps to herself, but always has a ready smile when I see her before she goes on her evening run. And Michelle just moved in...I look forward to hanging out with her at one of our neighborhood parties.

And in number 1 is my very favorite neighbor, Valaroo. This is her preferred name, and the name that is on the license plate of her hot pink cruiser bike, which is also decorated with about 7 different keychain versions of Spongebob Squarepants. Valaroo is a librarian, former nurse, and onetime model who worked in New York and Milan. She has a bright yellow car, carefully cultivates all the flowers on our property, knits voraciously, and is one of my best friends here in Boulder. Every Wednesday we get together for "Happy Wednesday" at the local brewpub, Mountain Sun, then wrap up the evening down at her place watching America's Next Top Model. She exposes me to new books and ideas and is completely unafraid to be herself.

It's just so wonderful to live in this little cocoon of interesting and intelligent people! Can't wait for our next get-together.