Saturday, October 24, 2009

What I think about ski season

So I was asked to write about something related to the sport of skiing... this is what I came up with:

Bzzzztt. Bzzzzzt. Bzzzzt. It is not so much of a sound, but a small vibration in the car door. It causes you to stir every couple of minutes, but your mind doesn't comprehend what is going on. You slowly fade out of consciousness for what seems like an eternity. Suddenly, you hear a sharp, high pitched tapping noise that rattles you out of your daze, only to enter a world of confusion. You are in a cocoon, tightly wrapped by the warmth surrounding you, while you can feel the brisk air trying to sneak in; your nose is exposed. Eyes opening ever so slowly again, as you peer out of your dark solitary confinement. Shadows appear before you, but everything is fuzzy and bright. Sunlight reflecting off of a million different facets.

Tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap. Tap. A muffled voice in the background. You mumble something inaudible that even in your head sounds odd. The time has come, you must make your move. As you start to stir, your vision gets clearer. You see the shining facets of ice crystals, you feel the frigid air rushing around you as you stretch and move your snuggled limbs. Finally, your hand emerges from your cocoon to be greeted by a rush of cold air and the scraping of those crystals. Shaved ice cascades down onto your face; cold and crisp. The light is brighter and the source of the tapping becomes clearer, just in time to hear it one more time.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap. Tap. The inaudible voice becomes clearer as your mind focuses. “Its time to get up man, its a powder day.” Your murmurs under your breath go on unheard as the source of the tapping moves on down the line. You can hear the sound of tapping coming from further away, as you lay there trying to guess what time it is and how much snow is actually out there. From the scrapings your fingernails have made on the glass, it is almost impossible to distinguish the amount of pure fluffy goodness there is out there. It could be an inch, or it could be a foot. Either way, your alarm told you it was a powder day.

The noise around you becomes louder as cars drive by, people are shouting from car to car, and the stereo next door to you starts to play a little bob marley. You wonder why nobody ever blasts vivaldi or choplin at this hour of the morning? The steady beats coming out of the subwoofer thump as you get dressed, layer after layer; you bundle up expecting the worst. The ice buildup on the inside of the window leads you to believe you have slept well, breathing in and out consistently enough to create a crystal fortress on the inside of your car. You take a deep breath as you gently push open the door and recoil from the falling flakes as they swirl about and end up in your lap. You know they won't hurt. They will barely be felt as you step out of the back of the car, blending into the outside world, where people are moving and talking and getting ready for another day. You wonder where their energy comes from. Some people are just morning people. Some people are not.

You reach for the sky... BIIIIIIIG Streeeeetch. You stare absently into space, dreaming of what the day will come. When you first heard the tapping and the knocking, you were tempted to ignore it all. Now that you have seen the outside world after emerging from your cocoon, you are energized. You draw from the energy of the people surrounding you. Bob rocks on, as further down the line some new rapper makes his debut in the parking area, blending ever so well with the skynard and the metallica combining melodically in the air. The day has been brought upon you, and you are ready to greet it with arms wide open. A few steps away from your car, and you realize that the day is going to be good. The snow erupts from the bank, plummeting into your boot as your take your first steps away from the home away from home. You know what today will bring; monotony.

Another day of the same old stuff; deep snow, legs burning, and a smile so big you won't be able to contain yourself. This is day 14 in a row of this same old routine. Sometimes things get changed on you; your alarm is earlier or later, or even a different sound all together, your windows don't ice up as much as they did today, or your head hurts from the night before. Most of the time you wish you could just relax for a day, but then the snow falls again; pushing you to continue on with your adventure. This is ski season, and this is freedom. When you emerge in the parking lot, you are there to start your day. You don't have an office, you don't have a boss. You do the same thing day in and day out; you are a creature of habit. Wake up, Get dressed, Ski all day, Apres Ski, Bedtime, Repeat. Calendars are good for keeping track of powder days, not dates. Irons are better used for a fresh coat of wax on your skis than a shirt with a collar.

You are awake, alive, and feeling energized. Your body tingles as you make your first turns; powder enveloping you like a great wave in the ocean. Snow crystals float down your collar and turn to water droplets as they melt and drip down your spine. Your legs burn as you get deeper and deeper into the snow, but with each turn they are strengthening. At some point you may not be able to get out and ski, but your memories are so vivid of the days that you have been skiing that all you will need to do is close your eyes and imagine. It does not matter where you are, or what season it is. Whenever you want to return to this moment, you can. And you will. Frequently.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Bachelor Party weekends

Some people go out and have strippers, some people go to vegas and cause trouble. My friend Phil just wanted a chill weekend where we all hang out, ride bikes, camp, set things on fire, and play with potato guns. That is exactly what we did.

A couple of things we figured out on this trip was that a 285lb guy who is 6'9" cannot go more than a day without breaking his gear. we also figured out that trailers in potatoes does actually work, and if you hit a flaming bottle of lighter fluid with a potato, it makes some cool effects.

I also realized that my dog is a pansy. He doesn't like loud noises, like explosions. In fact, he ran off for quite a while just because of the constant firing of the potato canon.

Here are some pictures from the weekend, as well as some other random stuff. Mostly just bike riding photos and people hanging out and some camp fire photos... .
Enjoy!

Friday, October 9, 2009

WalMart and Roommates

So my roommate Hillary is moving out, and she is a pretty cool roommate. My house is like a gateway for better things, as most of my roommates seem to go on and either find love, or a new job, or something exciting to happen to them. Yesterday, Hillary and I went to WalMart to get her a new car battery. I am sure a lot of you have seen the site People of Walmart but it really is amazing the kind of people you will see there. I haven't been to a walmart in almost 3 years because I prefer to shop with local businesses and not give my money to huge corporations that make their money undercutting the little guy, but that is for a different day.

While we were there, we completed our walmart experience by going to McDonalds. I was pushing for the deli, but we went with the McIE D'S. We saw the guy with his shopping cart full of empty shopping bags next to him, we saw the granmother, mother, and 2 kid combo of people that combined ages were not 50, and we saw the pear-shaped woman who ordered 3 double cheeseburgers, 2 hot and spicy's and 3 large fries and a large drink.... for herself.

Then we went to look at halloween costumes... I was really tempted to buy a costume for my dog... and another for my other roommates dog, and some koozies with skulls on them, and a freddy krueger outfit, and a witch costume... but i couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't know if there is something wrong with me, but buying halloween costumes for $14 seems wrong. It seems disposable, and it seems cheap. Where is the creativity? Are we that much into disposable products that it is profitable for someone to make these costumes and sell that at such a cheap price? apparently. I am going to boycott the holiday this year.

Then we went on to bikes. I heard someone ask the salesman, "which is more durable, this aluminum crankset or the plastic? I am not going to use it off the trails a lot, but i might take it mountain biking..." wow. that is all i have to say. i know not everyone can own a $2500 mountain bike, but you can find more reliable stuff on craigslist for the same you would buy new at walmart.

So that brings me to my final point. I need a roommate. please spread the word. I have an awesome house in Golden CO, and i need someone to move soon... like next week, or maybe the first of november. You have to like dogs, and like being around awesome people.