Orage Big Air
At the last minute, Bill talked me into going to Whistler this past weekend. It was the last hurrah for skihaus 2001, as our lease ended this weekend. I really didn't think I'd go, because Mark and Marie were in town, and I had a ton of work to do. But at work, I just reached the end of my tether, and I just needed to escape. I rushed home, packed, Bill pulled up, and we were off.
It's a misnomer to say I ski with Bill. He's way too good. It would be much more accurate to say, Bill proposes we take a route which scares me to death, I concur and put on a brave face, he proceeds to ski to the bottom and wait for me to roll and tumble down the hill, then he skis off to the lift and sits there and waits for me. He was pretty damn patient. As usual, my legs felt like jelly after chasing him around all day, and my left big toe, sans toenail, was throbbing. It's still bugging me today.
The weather was beautiful. Sunny, unlimited visibility. So strange, to have snowy alpine conditions up top (at one point 3 degrees celsius at the top of Blackcomb), and balmy sunny weather down low (63 degrees in the village). Spring skiing is sweet. Dress lightly, no need to wear a hat or goggles, just shredding through snow the consistency of chunky mashed potatoes.
This happened to be the weekend Whistler was hosting the World Ski and Snowboarding festival. We caught the Orage Big Air competiton and the Alpine Slopestyle competition. Those skiers are absolutely insane. I watch them and immediately am resigned to the fact that I will never have the guts to do anything like that. Going in backwards, launching yourself 20 feet in the air, and doing a 1080 and landing backwards...and most of the contestants were in their teens. One entrant was thirteen years old! It's something I may have lost growing up, or it might just be something I never had.
Driving back from Canada, Bill and I reminisced about all those crude video games we used to play in the old days. TRS-80, Intellivision, Atari 2600. We cranked his stereo up and sang loudly and badly the whole trip back. The Clash, Bob Dylan, David Gray, U2...now that Bill's heading up music merchandising, he gets all sorts of free music. He even cranked up some Bedrock. Pretty hip for an old guy.
By the way, Bill is also the junk food king. He loves the stuff, he knows it better than anyone. He took me to A&W just before the border and introduced me to the Mama Burger. Everyone restaurant we passed, he could cite the gems of the menu by heart. Dairy Queen--hot fudge sundae. Arby's--they butter their buns. And so on.
Getting away was a good call. Up there in Canada, I don't really think of work. Bill brought up a screener of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and we laughed our asses off. Just sleep, eat, ski and board, listen to some tunes, roast by the fire, and read. I've been way too wrapped in work recently, and it was bringing me down. I've got to remember, no matter how tired I am, how busy my schedule, I have to set aside time to work out, read a little, listen to some music. I went for a quick ride at around 6 tonight. Zipped around Mercer. Then I went back to work. It felt great.
Have problems removing those damn seals on the top of new CD cases? Here's a little secret: just pry the front door off the CD case from the side opposite the sticker and pry the sticker off by flipping the front door over the top of the case.
I've noticed lots of people use the following phrase recently:
"Are you wanting to..." I wonder why? What effete sentence structure.
Don Baylor is just a bad manager. He publicly criticizes his players, he's not a great tactical manager...it's despite him, not because of him, that the Cubs are winning right now.
Little sis Karen got a job offer from a company in Boston. Her first year salary is insane! Makes the salary I made coming out of college look like minimum wage. Congrats to her. Both Joannie and Karen are pretty set for next year. Maybe they'll be ready to support the old man soon (that would be me).
Little babies all growed up.
It's a misnomer to say I ski with Bill. He's way too good. It would be much more accurate to say, Bill proposes we take a route which scares me to death, I concur and put on a brave face, he proceeds to ski to the bottom and wait for me to roll and tumble down the hill, then he skis off to the lift and sits there and waits for me. He was pretty damn patient. As usual, my legs felt like jelly after chasing him around all day, and my left big toe, sans toenail, was throbbing. It's still bugging me today.
The weather was beautiful. Sunny, unlimited visibility. So strange, to have snowy alpine conditions up top (at one point 3 degrees celsius at the top of Blackcomb), and balmy sunny weather down low (63 degrees in the village). Spring skiing is sweet. Dress lightly, no need to wear a hat or goggles, just shredding through snow the consistency of chunky mashed potatoes.
This happened to be the weekend Whistler was hosting the World Ski and Snowboarding festival. We caught the Orage Big Air competiton and the Alpine Slopestyle competition. Those skiers are absolutely insane. I watch them and immediately am resigned to the fact that I will never have the guts to do anything like that. Going in backwards, launching yourself 20 feet in the air, and doing a 1080 and landing backwards...and most of the contestants were in their teens. One entrant was thirteen years old! It's something I may have lost growing up, or it might just be something I never had.
Driving back from Canada, Bill and I reminisced about all those crude video games we used to play in the old days. TRS-80, Intellivision, Atari 2600. We cranked his stereo up and sang loudly and badly the whole trip back. The Clash, Bob Dylan, David Gray, U2...now that Bill's heading up music merchandising, he gets all sorts of free music. He even cranked up some Bedrock. Pretty hip for an old guy.
By the way, Bill is also the junk food king. He loves the stuff, he knows it better than anyone. He took me to A&W just before the border and introduced me to the Mama Burger. Everyone restaurant we passed, he could cite the gems of the menu by heart. Dairy Queen--hot fudge sundae. Arby's--they butter their buns. And so on.
Getting away was a good call. Up there in Canada, I don't really think of work. Bill brought up a screener of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and we laughed our asses off. Just sleep, eat, ski and board, listen to some tunes, roast by the fire, and read. I've been way too wrapped in work recently, and it was bringing me down. I've got to remember, no matter how tired I am, how busy my schedule, I have to set aside time to work out, read a little, listen to some music. I went for a quick ride at around 6 tonight. Zipped around Mercer. Then I went back to work. It felt great.
Have problems removing those damn seals on the top of new CD cases? Here's a little secret: just pry the front door off the CD case from the side opposite the sticker and pry the sticker off by flipping the front door over the top of the case.
I've noticed lots of people use the following phrase recently:
"Are you wanting to..." I wonder why? What effete sentence structure.
Don Baylor is just a bad manager. He publicly criticizes his players, he's not a great tactical manager...it's despite him, not because of him, that the Cubs are winning right now.
Little sis Karen got a job offer from a company in Boston. Her first year salary is insane! Makes the salary I made coming out of college look like minimum wage. Congrats to her. Both Joannie and Karen are pretty set for next year. Maybe they'll be ready to support the old man soon (that would be me).
Little babies all growed up.