Fall’s courtship

I am falling in love.No, not with a boy. I’m falling for fall, silly! You know, it’s a double entourage or whatever those things are called. Point is, this is hands down my favorite time of year in Aspen.This is when all the annoying people go and the cool people stay and you run into someone you know everywhere you go, which makes you feel like you are all popular and whatnot. (Or in my case, confused, since I have no clue who half these people are.) There are no more lines at the supermarket (though they still insist on putting your four grocery items into six bags) and the waiters are flirting with me again and even the parking nazis seem to be loosening up a bit.The skies have finally cleared so it’s possible to, like, do something outside without worrying that you just might get struck by lightning and die right there on the spot. The few hundred calories I hoped to burn hardly seemed worth the risk. Even though I’m not religious or anything, I do worry if God knows that I lied about my weight on my drivers license or maybe he saw me take my latte without leaving an extra dollar in the tip jar. God only knows what god knows if you know what I mean.What I’m trying to say is thanks to whoever is in charge of the weather for bringing back the ol’ high-presh because it’s great for people like me who like to sleep late and don’t hit the trail until 12 p.m. I love nothing more than to be able to wander aimlessly above treeline all casual-like in the late afternoon and get back to my car just in time for happy hour at Iguana’s.I am also loving the cooler temps as I do not do well with heat. I am thinking this is because I am built like an Eskimo or a penguin or a bear – made for cold. I’m not like one of those tall, lanky, skinny bitches who looks good in low-rider jeans. I’ve got tiny hands and feet, short extremities and a thick body which does not make for good times when the temps go above 80 degrees. Plus, I am a total sweater person since it is much easier for me to carry off the warm and fuzzy look over the midriff baring one.Best of all, I love feeling like I’m high on mushrooms on account of all the colors that are just starting to go off, like golden streaks of blond in the waist-long hair of a sun-drenched surfer girl. Everything about fall screams change and renewal and fresh start. It’s like being a kid again when school first begins and you’ve got new sneakers and empty notebooks, a fresh pair of Levi’s and are still convinced that you’re actually going to do your homework, study for tests and get good grades this year.To think that just a few weeks ago I was becoming one of those bitter, tourist-hating locals who bitches just because they can’t find a parking spot. Now I’m happy just to be alive under blue skies and yellow trees, falling in love once again with Aspen.The Princess swears these sappy sentiments have nothing to do with being on drugs. E-mail her at alison@berkleymedia.com