And I mean rough. Today, after skiing the morning with Vanya, I decided to mix it up a bit and went up Blackcomb solo. Over the past month or so my skills have really improved to the point where a) I need some lessons to take me to the next level and b) I am willing to take more risks. My thinking has been if I take care, there is little that I can get into that I can't get out of. That has mostly been the case until today. I took the Glacier Express and instead of doing the normal runs traversed off-piste to what looked like a nice unskied-out bowl. I was heartened that there were a couple of other guys heading that way too. There was a gate the said "double black diamond ahead, expert skiers only." Looking through the gate at the bowl it looked pretty sweet and I went for it. The first part of the run, which I later learned was called 'Big Bang' was steep but not too bad. Piece of cake, right? No. That run ended at abruptly at a cliff which is called 'Couloir Extreme,' which I believe is French for 'you should have read that sign back there.'
I was frightened. There were no outs, just cliffs and bare rock to the left and the right. I pondered my fate. The only way was down. Nothing else to do but go for it. If I told you that I did the whole slope on my skies, I would be lying. I definitely slid some of it on my butt. The good news is that after about 20-30 yards of rocky steep it widened out and while still super steep it was skiable. At the bottom, my friends (the two guys I followed through the gate) were waiting. They had also carefully picked their way down and we took photos of each other to have at least some record of the feat. I was a little shaken and rebuilt some of my confidence by beating up on some unsuspecting blue and single black diamond slopes. I was zooming. In the end, I think my confidence had an overall net improvement. Now I am actively seeking the next challenge and feel like over the next month of so there will be more of these kinds of challenges in my future.
Also, I think I should buy myself a helmet.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Ski Bum Tour 2008
On a power-walk the other day I had an idea, "Why not take a few weeks and travel to all the ski resorts I have always wanted to visit but haven't gotten around to yet?" Thus was born "Ski Bum Tour 2008." Starting 3/3 I will be driving from Seattle to Big Sky, then Jackson Hole followed by Park City and Sun Valley, returning to Seattle 3/21. I will spend 4-5 days skiing at each and try to fulfill my goal of becoming an expert skier before the end of this winter. To prepare, I have spent nine days skiing locally and in Tahoe and will be in Whistler for a week as well. My fitness level is better than it has been in years having lost 20-25 lbs since Christmas and spending a lot of time at the gym building my stamina and aerobic capacity.
I will be blogging the trip here and will share what is sure to be an amazing experience.
I will be blogging the trip here and will share what is sure to be an amazing experience.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Romeo and Juliet
We saw PNB's production of Romeo and Juliet on Saturday. It was a masterpiece. I don't say this lightly. At first I was a little taken aback by Jean-Christophe Maillot's choreography which was a big departure from the most widely performed stagings based on Sir Kenneth MacMillan's 1965 and John Cranko's 1969 adaptations. Cranko's presentation is true to the time period and beautifully captures the mood, drama and tragedy as the story unfolds. I am less familiar with MacMillan's 1965 choreography but suspect it shares much with Cranko's as a vehicle for the principal characters to show off their prowess (after all, Nureyev and Fontaine were the among those featured in MacMillan's production).
Maillot's choreography borrows liberally and completely appropriately from the classical, modern and folk. The depth of feeling and emotion conveyed through the dancers was startling, a far cry from the form-following character straight-jacketing from which most classical ballet's suffer (I still consider R&J to be classical). The choreography also gives a wider range of dancers exposure in significant roles. Besides Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, the Nurse and the Friar add unique and story-enriching dimension to this Shakespearean drama. I am especially drawn to the Friar who seems to also play the role of Fate and appears at critical junctures as the tragedy unfolds.
There is so much more I could write about this beautiful piece but will leave it at this. If you ever get the chance to see this adaptation, grab it!
Maillot's choreography borrows liberally and completely appropriately from the classical, modern and folk. The depth of feeling and emotion conveyed through the dancers was startling, a far cry from the form-following character straight-jacketing from which most classical ballet's suffer (I still consider R&J to be classical). The choreography also gives a wider range of dancers exposure in significant roles. Besides Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, the Nurse and the Friar add unique and story-enriching dimension to this Shakespearean drama. I am especially drawn to the Friar who seems to also play the role of Fate and appears at critical junctures as the tragedy unfolds.
There is so much more I could write about this beautiful piece but will leave it at this. If you ever get the chance to see this adaptation, grab it!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Google's Ad(non)sense
A few days after I post new blog entries, I see that my Google Adsense ad usually changes. The one I noticed today makes absolutely no sense whatsoever though. Who would have thought that a blog that has lately been focused on skiing, random wonderful people I have met while traveling and other self-absorbed topics would result in this?
Big Women - Pics Galore
Big Women - Pics Galore
For big women seeking relationships Pics, personals, & more. Join free.
BBWDatefinder.com
Could it be like Amazon's recommendations? Perhaps. Imagine: "People like you who love skiing and sharing stories also love... BBW." Maybe they are onto something (though I doubt it; or their algorithms need a little tweaking). Or is this Google trying to get me to broaden my horizons?
BBWDatefinder.com
Could it be like Amazon's recommendations? Perhaps. Imagine: "People like you who love skiing and sharing stories also love... BBW." Maybe they are onto something (though I doubt it; or their algorithms need a little tweaking). Or is this Google trying to get me to broaden my horizons?
Friday, February 1, 2008
But Wait! It Gets Better
After the musicians finished playing this evening, we got on the plane, pushed back and were told of *another* hour long delay, until 8:42pm. They taxi onto the field and pull up to wait for clearance beside a number of other planes in the same position we were. Mercifully, the crew let us get up, use the rest room and were happy to serve us booze (in 1st class). After a couple of bloody marys I hit the head and notice the cockpit door was open. Feeling a little less inhibited than I might otherwise be, I poked my head in and ask if I could take a look. They not only said yes, they invited me to get my camera and offered to take pictures of me 'flying' the plane (posted in my Facebook album). How cool is that? I felt like a 12 year old. Man, Vanya is going to be so jealous. This and some great conversations with my seat-mate (former college football player, and food and wine connoisseur) and a shared taxi ride into the city with two lovely, attractive (and attached) ladies made the whole trip feel like a grand adventure. Even though I arrived almost eight hours later than originally planed I had some terrific adventures and experiences along the way. I wouldn't trade this for anything.
Page-Turner In Training
Today was a pretty hellish day. It started early at 4am when I got up to head to SeaTac for my 6am flight to LGA via ORD. Memo to self: never, ever fly through Chicago in the winter. What, am I stupid? Probably. Flight SEA-ORD was going to be delayed until 7:30. Magically it went back to 6:20am and we were off. Kind of. Get my seat and my phone rings. 6am. Who could it be? Why, it is United calling me to tell me my 1pm ORD-LGA leg has been canceled and they have kindly booked me on the 5pm. Fuck. Ok. Get to ORD (a little early, even) and get on the phone to get on the 3pm to LGA. So far, so good. Go to gate and find that has been delayed to 5pm too. Fuck! Again. Call UA back and switch back to original 5pm flight since it would be a wash and I had a better seat. New 5pm flight moved to 6:35pm. Fuck, fuck. Ok. Get some food, write some blog entries, do some email. Good, right? No! 6:35pm moved to 7:53pm. Fuckedy, fuck, fuck. Resigned to my fate I sit in the simplicity of the now. What now? Boy, there are a bunch of musicians with violins, violas and cellos waiting for the same flight. They break out their instruments and have an impromptu concert. Turns out they are the world renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. They play two pieces. Pictures and video posted on Facebook. Totally broke the tension and downer that everyone was feeling from the repeated delays. This group of 15 musicians were playing right next to us. I was so close that I served as a page turner for the violists. For a crummy day, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can even say it was worth it.
The Script
I have been wondering why people tend to ‘freak out’ at some point in their lives, end relationships abruptly, leave jobs, move elsewhere out of the blue. Over the past several months I have formed a hypothesis. Certainly not new or unique hypothesis, but one that I try to test against reality to see how well it matches. What is this hypothesis? Most of us hit some wall in our lives where we wake up one day and suddenly see the stark discrepancy between the reality of our current situation and our largely unconscious and deeply-rooted expectations, the ‘script’ of how our life is supposed to play out.
This makes sense, I suppose, since we are continuously bombarded with all sorts of messages about what will make us happy, what others expect of us and what we need to achieve and do to be successful. I have certainly had periods where I felt the terrible abyss between what I had thought I was doggedly pursuing and what would make me truly happy. Further, I think that the ‘script’ drama plays out differently for men and women. In women, I have observed something I call the ‘danger years.’ These are arguably between about 28 and 35. Many women I have known have abruptly changed relationships, jobs, cities because they were trying to deal with a deep sense of disease and dissatisfaction about how their lives are going. For women, I think this largely has to do with desire and expectation to have children. At the risk of oversimplifying (as many hypotheses do), I have seen the struggle many women have had around feeling like if they are going to have children, they need to hop right on it in tension with whether this is what they really want in their lives. Some women badly want to have children and their script drama has to do with finding a suitable mate and starting a family when conditions in their lives (their current relationships, career aspirations, etc.) have made pursuing this difficult. Others are in a somewhat opposite situation. They have a mate and have made other choices compromises in order to make it easier to start a family, but find that this is not the life they want to lead.
For men, I don’t think the script drama is so bound by a particular age or life circumstance. For me at least, I go through periodic cycles of wondering what it is all about and whether I am doing the right thing. Men do not have the same time-based concerns as women around having children. Men’s dramas, I believe, are more centered on whether they are fulfilling some picture of being a successful man and achieving the material and social status that society uses to assess worth.
So what does this all mean? Not much I suppose. When you are in the script drama, it is hard to gain any perspective since it literally feels like life or death. Perhaps age has given me some perspective, at least on the dramas that I have lived in the past. Getting older has helped me to be more realistic about who I am, who I can hope to be and what I believe will make me happy.
This makes sense, I suppose, since we are continuously bombarded with all sorts of messages about what will make us happy, what others expect of us and what we need to achieve and do to be successful. I have certainly had periods where I felt the terrible abyss between what I had thought I was doggedly pursuing and what would make me truly happy. Further, I think that the ‘script’ drama plays out differently for men and women. In women, I have observed something I call the ‘danger years.’ These are arguably between about 28 and 35. Many women I have known have abruptly changed relationships, jobs, cities because they were trying to deal with a deep sense of disease and dissatisfaction about how their lives are going. For women, I think this largely has to do with desire and expectation to have children. At the risk of oversimplifying (as many hypotheses do), I have seen the struggle many women have had around feeling like if they are going to have children, they need to hop right on it in tension with whether this is what they really want in their lives. Some women badly want to have children and their script drama has to do with finding a suitable mate and starting a family when conditions in their lives (their current relationships, career aspirations, etc.) have made pursuing this difficult. Others are in a somewhat opposite situation. They have a mate and have made other choices compromises in order to make it easier to start a family, but find that this is not the life they want to lead.
For men, I don’t think the script drama is so bound by a particular age or life circumstance. For me at least, I go through periodic cycles of wondering what it is all about and whether I am doing the right thing. Men do not have the same time-based concerns as women around having children. Men’s dramas, I believe, are more centered on whether they are fulfilling some picture of being a successful man and achieving the material and social status that society uses to assess worth.
So what does this all mean? Not much I suppose. When you are in the script drama, it is hard to gain any perspective since it literally feels like life or death. Perhaps age has given me some perspective, at least on the dramas that I have lived in the past. Getting older has helped me to be more realistic about who I am, who I can hope to be and what I believe will make me happy.
Powder Days
Back from Tahoe and making a commitment to ski thirty days this season. Up to day eight and plans for lots more. It is a wonder what some well-timed skiing tips (thanks to Bettina and several random conversations with anonymous strangers on the chair lifts), diligent practice and risk-taking along with desire can accomplish. This past week I skied twice at Crystal and both days there was lots of new powder. The first day, I was pretty tentative and just touched on the powdery stuff but didn’t dive in whole hog. However, on the second day I resolved to conquer my fear and get in knee deep no matter the outcome. It worked! Taking the sage advice to “float” I spent the better part of the day in untracked and lightly tracked powder and with the exception of a few spectacular face-plants and a getting bogged down when I let my speed die, I did well and had a great time in the process. Now I know what people are marveling at when they talk about when they go on and on and on and ON and ON AND ON about powder. Somewhat sore, body mostly intact and with a renewed desire to move solidly up to the next level, I look forward to more powder adventures next week when I am back from NYC.
What came first, the music or the misery?
So starts High Fidelity, the most juvenile, self-centered, meaningful movie I think I have ever seen. Do I identify with Rob? You bet I do.
Anyway, driving to Crystal Wednesday, I found myself annoyed, angry at people on the road, frustrated with the state of the world from listening to NPR and generally in a foul mood. I have been developing more of a consciousness about what I am feeling and when I am reacting in the moment and trying to apply the principal of detached observation. This is something I had been aware of for a while but re-picked up from reading Instinct for Freedom. I used to remain so engrossed in my upset or else backlash and feel shitty about how I am reacting and beat myself up. Holding the neutral stance is hard but has the power to diffuse the feelings if you are willing to sit in whatever is happening for long enough. During this particular episode, I backtracked and realized that I was angry before anything I felt upset about had actually occurred. Wondering further, I pondered whether this is how it usually works. We get upset, we find something to be upset about and then fixate on that as the cause creating the rationale for how we feel. Not much more to say about this one. Call it realization number twelve thousand, five hundred and sixty two.
Anyway, driving to Crystal Wednesday, I found myself annoyed, angry at people on the road, frustrated with the state of the world from listening to NPR and generally in a foul mood. I have been developing more of a consciousness about what I am feeling and when I am reacting in the moment and trying to apply the principal of detached observation. This is something I had been aware of for a while but re-picked up from reading Instinct for Freedom. I used to remain so engrossed in my upset or else backlash and feel shitty about how I am reacting and beat myself up. Holding the neutral stance is hard but has the power to diffuse the feelings if you are willing to sit in whatever is happening for long enough. During this particular episode, I backtracked and realized that I was angry before anything I felt upset about had actually occurred. Wondering further, I pondered whether this is how it usually works. We get upset, we find something to be upset about and then fixate on that as the cause creating the rationale for how we feel. Not much more to say about this one. Call it realization number twelve thousand, five hundred and sixty two.
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