Sorry I haven't been writing much lately, folks. After my epic snowboarding adventure, I was out of commission for awhile. My predictions that I would be unable to move without difficulty were entirely accurate. Thursday and Friday were tough! Also I think I caught a bit of a cold up there on the mountain. Add to that my continued insomniac tendencies, and quite literally I've been sick and tired for most of the past few days.
The weekend was miserable. Saturday was a full, crazy day at work. Good to be kept busy, but it's hard to be on your feet helping people all day when you feel sick. Then on the way home, I had what I can only describe as a depressive episode--lots of crying for no reason, and that continued for most of the night. It really worried me. I wish I got more (and better) sleep; that probably has something to do with it. Had to take sleeping pills at least 3 times this week, and that's not something I particularly like doing, but it beats lying in bed awake for two hours or more staring at the ceiling.
Anyway, today I was so exhausted from the emotional chaos of last night, as well as the sleeping pill I took (again), that I woke up and could barely move. I staggered out of bed and managed to eat breakfast with the family. Then I went outside and lay on our front porch in the sun for awhile, before going back to bed again. I had hoped to go for a hike or something today, the weather was so beautiful, but I just never stopped feeling completely fatigued.
Hoping for better things (and lots more energy!!) tomorrow...
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
O Happy Day!
Amen, Hallelujah, and praise the Lord! Snowboarding today was AWESOME. It was worth every ache and pain that I will feel tomorrow...and oh, I will be feeling them tomorrow.
In fact, driving home, I could barely keep my hands on the steering wheel, because my arms were shaking. When I got home, I could barely walk because my legs were like jelly. I am either terribly out of shape or terribly old. Whatever the case, it doesn't matter, because I have a really, really fast board, and I TORE IT UP today. Oh yes, I did. Just call me Shredder, baby. I was bombing down those runs like a...like a bomber, I guess. Or a...um, I don't know, something that goes really fast. Hmmm. I went so fast, it seems some of my brain cells got left behind and are still trying to make their way home. At least, I hope that's what they're doing. I need every one that I can get!
I went to Mt Baldy, because it is only about an hour from my house. I have to admit, as I was driving up there, I was a little concerned about the fact that there was a noticeable dearth of actual snow. In fact, when I pulled up to the resort parking lot, I almost turned around and went back home. I could see bare earth and rock everywhere. But I'm glad I stuck to my guns. It was still a bit thin at the top, but there were two or three really fun runs, where you could just...go really fast. Being a weekday, hardly anyone was around. The sky was blue and there were no clouds. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day...or a better way to spend it!
I went alone. When I told one of my co-workers on Tuesday that I was planning to do that, he looked at me funny, as though I'd said, "I'm going out to dinner by myself on Valentine's Day and then eating a whole tub of ice cream while watching Bridget Jones' Diary." Er, not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with that! Well, actually there might be something wrong with eating a whole tub of ice cream. That's not very healthy. But my POINT is, why do people think you are weird if you do fun things by yourself? Dang, if I waited around for my friends to be available to do stuff, I might never get to do anything! And anyway, who else would have been able to go snowboarding on a weekday? Not everyone is a bum like me, ha! Hey, when the opportunity comes along, you gotta grab it, alone or not. That's my philosophy, anyway.
So yeah, I don't know if I'm actually going to be able to move tomorrow. Which will be slightly awkward, because I have a nearly-full-day shift. I can't wait to pull computers and printers off the shelves for customers with my spaghetti arms. Yee-ha!
It was still oh-so-very worth it.
PS did I mention that I tore it up today? Because I did, you know. Just want to make sure you knew that. Because I don't like to brag, but I do like telling the truth, and this is the truth so I am telling it. Honesty compels me, what can I say?
In fact, driving home, I could barely keep my hands on the steering wheel, because my arms were shaking. When I got home, I could barely walk because my legs were like jelly. I am either terribly out of shape or terribly old. Whatever the case, it doesn't matter, because I have a really, really fast board, and I TORE IT UP today. Oh yes, I did. Just call me Shredder, baby. I was bombing down those runs like a...like a bomber, I guess. Or a...um, I don't know, something that goes really fast. Hmmm. I went so fast, it seems some of my brain cells got left behind and are still trying to make their way home. At least, I hope that's what they're doing. I need every one that I can get!
I went to Mt Baldy, because it is only about an hour from my house. I have to admit, as I was driving up there, I was a little concerned about the fact that there was a noticeable dearth of actual snow. In fact, when I pulled up to the resort parking lot, I almost turned around and went back home. I could see bare earth and rock everywhere. But I'm glad I stuck to my guns. It was still a bit thin at the top, but there were two or three really fun runs, where you could just...go really fast. Being a weekday, hardly anyone was around. The sky was blue and there were no clouds. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day...or a better way to spend it!
I went alone. When I told one of my co-workers on Tuesday that I was planning to do that, he looked at me funny, as though I'd said, "I'm going out to dinner by myself on Valentine's Day and then eating a whole tub of ice cream while watching Bridget Jones' Diary." Er, not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with that! Well, actually there might be something wrong with eating a whole tub of ice cream. That's not very healthy. But my POINT is, why do people think you are weird if you do fun things by yourself? Dang, if I waited around for my friends to be available to do stuff, I might never get to do anything! And anyway, who else would have been able to go snowboarding on a weekday? Not everyone is a bum like me, ha! Hey, when the opportunity comes along, you gotta grab it, alone or not. That's my philosophy, anyway.
So yeah, I don't know if I'm actually going to be able to move tomorrow. Which will be slightly awkward, because I have a nearly-full-day shift. I can't wait to pull computers and printers off the shelves for customers with my spaghetti arms. Yee-ha!
It was still oh-so-very worth it.
PS did I mention that I tore it up today? Because I did, you know. Just want to make sure you knew that. Because I don't like to brag, but I do like telling the truth, and this is the truth so I am telling it. Honesty compels me, what can I say?
The Time Has Come
I am going snowboarding today!
I am excited to hit the slopes for the first time this season. And on a weekday too...no crowds! Yee-ha.
Actually this will be the first time in over a year! Let's hope I remember how to do it. I'm sure it would make for a funnier blog later if I don't, but it won't be nearly as much fun while on the mountain!
Have a great day, and I'll write more when I get back. If I'm not too tired. Or sore. Or if I don't find something better to do.
I am excited to hit the slopes for the first time this season. And on a weekday too...no crowds! Yee-ha.
Actually this will be the first time in over a year! Let's hope I remember how to do it. I'm sure it would make for a funnier blog later if I don't, but it won't be nearly as much fun while on the mountain!
Have a great day, and I'll write more when I get back. If I'm not too tired. Or sore. Or if I don't find something better to do.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Random Rambling
Happy MLK Day, everybody!
It feels like springtime in southern California, which is great. I am all about warm weather...except, of course, that I do like snowboarding. That's a bit of a paradox, isn't it. Well, I figure it's ok for it to be cold and snowy in the mountains. I think snow is pretty, so it's not that I hate it. I just like to know that I can come back to the warm, sunny valley when I'm done riding!
On a totally unrelated note, I would just like to say: Thank God for e-mail and MSN Messenger. Yesterday I chatted with a friend in Brazil, I keep in regular contact with friends in New Zealand, and right now I'm catching up with a buddy I met in New Zealand but he's from Minnesota...it's amazing! I love it. Of course, the downside is the fact that I can't see all these people in person.
It's kind of weird. I will have these moments where, for just a split-second, I think I'm back in New Zealand again. Recently, while walking down my street, I smelled woodsmoke, and suddenly I was strolling along Church Street in the tiny little town of Oxford on the south island. I almost expected to see the old field with cows on the next block.
Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever go back to the Land of the Long White Cloud. I hope so. I miss it sometimes. Today my dad was asking if I knew any good places in LA to just go and enjoy a nice view while people watching. I almost said, "Hey let's head over to Mission Bay," and then I remembered that Mission Bay is 6000 miles away, in Auckland. Sigh...too bad really. Mission Bay would have been perfect.
It feels like springtime in southern California, which is great. I am all about warm weather...except, of course, that I do like snowboarding. That's a bit of a paradox, isn't it. Well, I figure it's ok for it to be cold and snowy in the mountains. I think snow is pretty, so it's not that I hate it. I just like to know that I can come back to the warm, sunny valley when I'm done riding!
On a totally unrelated note, I would just like to say: Thank God for e-mail and MSN Messenger. Yesterday I chatted with a friend in Brazil, I keep in regular contact with friends in New Zealand, and right now I'm catching up with a buddy I met in New Zealand but he's from Minnesota...it's amazing! I love it. Of course, the downside is the fact that I can't see all these people in person.
It's kind of weird. I will have these moments where, for just a split-second, I think I'm back in New Zealand again. Recently, while walking down my street, I smelled woodsmoke, and suddenly I was strolling along Church Street in the tiny little town of Oxford on the south island. I almost expected to see the old field with cows on the next block.
Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever go back to the Land of the Long White Cloud. I hope so. I miss it sometimes. Today my dad was asking if I knew any good places in LA to just go and enjoy a nice view while people watching. I almost said, "Hey let's head over to Mission Bay," and then I remembered that Mission Bay is 6000 miles away, in Auckland. Sigh...too bad really. Mission Bay would have been perfect.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
To Kill or Not To Kill? That is the Question
Forgive me, God, for I have sinned: I have harbored murderous intentions in my heart.
It's my sister's bird, Leo the cockatiel. I HATE him. Early in the morning, while I am still trying to figure out if I'm actually awake, I walk through the breakfast room on my way to make some tea or "rustle up some grub" (eh, cowgirl?), and the bird begins this awful shrieking, and then I just want to KILL him. Yes, I do.
I yell at him to shut up, but he doesn't. Yesterday I nearly set the cat on him. I think he knew I was getting close to the end of my tether, because he subsided from his piercing whistle to a quiet, nervous little chirp. Also he could see the cat for himself, right outside the french doors, licking her lips, and he probably saw that I was looking longingly at the door handle.
In all truth, I should probably feel more sorry for Leo. He has no purpose in life. He just sits in that cage in the corner of one of the least used (but frequently passed through) rooms in the house. He is not friendly, so no one attempts to play with him, except the cowgirl. And even she doesn't do it all that much. Sometimes she sets him free from the cage to flutter around, but he generally sticks pretty close to his comfort zone (i.e., the cage). It's pathetic. If I were him, I'd probably be relieved to be murdered.
Maybe I could gag him. You know, run a little piece of cloth through his beak or something. Or invent a tiny bird muzzle. Or I wonder if you can "de-chirp" birds, the same way you can de-bark dogs.
Well, I guess there are potentially more annoying things in life than having to put up with noisy birds. For example, having a dog that has an addiction to playing fetch and will run backwards in front of you when you take him for a hike, because he is desperately hoping you will throw a stick for him.
Oh wait, that's what the cowgirl's dog does. Hmmm.
It's my sister's bird, Leo the cockatiel. I HATE him. Early in the morning, while I am still trying to figure out if I'm actually awake, I walk through the breakfast room on my way to make some tea or "rustle up some grub" (eh, cowgirl?), and the bird begins this awful shrieking, and then I just want to KILL him. Yes, I do.
I yell at him to shut up, but he doesn't. Yesterday I nearly set the cat on him. I think he knew I was getting close to the end of my tether, because he subsided from his piercing whistle to a quiet, nervous little chirp. Also he could see the cat for himself, right outside the french doors, licking her lips, and he probably saw that I was looking longingly at the door handle.
In all truth, I should probably feel more sorry for Leo. He has no purpose in life. He just sits in that cage in the corner of one of the least used (but frequently passed through) rooms in the house. He is not friendly, so no one attempts to play with him, except the cowgirl. And even she doesn't do it all that much. Sometimes she sets him free from the cage to flutter around, but he generally sticks pretty close to his comfort zone (i.e., the cage). It's pathetic. If I were him, I'd probably be relieved to be murdered.
Maybe I could gag him. You know, run a little piece of cloth through his beak or something. Or invent a tiny bird muzzle. Or I wonder if you can "de-chirp" birds, the same way you can de-bark dogs.
Well, I guess there are potentially more annoying things in life than having to put up with noisy birds. For example, having a dog that has an addiction to playing fetch and will run backwards in front of you when you take him for a hike, because he is desperately hoping you will throw a stick for him.
Oh wait, that's what the cowgirl's dog does. Hmmm.
Friday, January 14, 2005
The World's Strongest Margarita...
...is at Pepe's in my town. I have just one word to say about it: WOW.
I went there last night with my parents and the cowgirl. We all ordered the Top Shelf Margarita. When it arrived, I thought I might just dive in and go for a swim. It was HUGE.
Well, this drink tasted way too good, and I probably gulped it down a little too quickly. WIthin minutes I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to pass a straight line test. I am not much of a drinker as a rule, but nearly a week ago I had a margarita at Chevy's, about the same size as the Pepe's variety, but I was still able to carry on a normal conversation and look around the room without feeling like I was going to fall off my chair!!
It reminded of the time a few years back, when I had been on yet another snowboarding adventure with my boys, Mark and steveforpresident. After a long day on the slopes, we stopped to visit a friend in Tahoe City, and the four of us went to this little Mexican place, where our local friend ordered two PITCHERS of margaritas.
Well.
I never eat or drink much when I am riding, because I hate paying exorbitant ski-lodge prices for lame food, and I also don't like having to take bathroom breaks. I have the world's smallest bladder anyway, so if I drank anything I'd probably have to stop 10 trillion times during the day to pee. (Someday I will tell the story of another trip and the miracle Port-A-Potty! But that is definitely a whole 'nother tale...)
Anyway, the point being that by the time we were all having these drinks, I was dehydrated and also had a completely empty stomach. So I downed the first glass like it was water, because I was so thirsty. Then I started on a second one. Bad idea.
I figured out something was definitely not right when I leaned over to say something privately to Mark, and actually conked him in the head.
Thankfully I wasn't the one driving home that night.
Or last night either. The cowgirl did the honors. She holds her liquor way better than I do. That's because she's a cowgirl. I think that's one of the requirements.
I went there last night with my parents and the cowgirl. We all ordered the Top Shelf Margarita. When it arrived, I thought I might just dive in and go for a swim. It was HUGE.
Well, this drink tasted way too good, and I probably gulped it down a little too quickly. WIthin minutes I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to pass a straight line test. I am not much of a drinker as a rule, but nearly a week ago I had a margarita at Chevy's, about the same size as the Pepe's variety, but I was still able to carry on a normal conversation and look around the room without feeling like I was going to fall off my chair!!
It reminded of the time a few years back, when I had been on yet another snowboarding adventure with my boys, Mark and steveforpresident. After a long day on the slopes, we stopped to visit a friend in Tahoe City, and the four of us went to this little Mexican place, where our local friend ordered two PITCHERS of margaritas.
Well.
I never eat or drink much when I am riding, because I hate paying exorbitant ski-lodge prices for lame food, and I also don't like having to take bathroom breaks. I have the world's smallest bladder anyway, so if I drank anything I'd probably have to stop 10 trillion times during the day to pee. (Someday I will tell the story of another trip and the miracle Port-A-Potty! But that is definitely a whole 'nother tale...)
Anyway, the point being that by the time we were all having these drinks, I was dehydrated and also had a completely empty stomach. So I downed the first glass like it was water, because I was so thirsty. Then I started on a second one. Bad idea.
I figured out something was definitely not right when I leaned over to say something privately to Mark, and actually conked him in the head.
Thankfully I wasn't the one driving home that night.
Or last night either. The cowgirl did the honors. She holds her liquor way better than I do. That's because she's a cowgirl. I think that's one of the requirements.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Scene From A Movie: "Before The Sunrise"
A man and a woman are standing on a sidewalk on a dark street in Vienna, outside of a club. It is very late, after midnight. The two are strangers, having met while traveling, and now both of them are just killing time before they have to go their separate ways, which will happen in 14 hours. They have talked about nearly everything external to themselves during their explorations of the city--life, philosophy, whatever else strangers talk about when they are becoming friends. Now at last they are beginning to go deeper, to talk about something a little more...dangerous. They begin to talk about love.
The man says he doesn't think his problem is commitment. He says he is not afraid of that. No, what he is afraid of is failing. He wants to be really good at something, to do well in his life. He thinks that maybe, if he gets tangled up with another human being, somehow everything will be ruined. His life will be forever marked by his failure.
The girl is quiet as he speaks. She watches him with a Mona Lisa smile on her face, and when he finishes his speech, she gently says, "I know. It is almost impossible to succeed really...but who cares?" She looks away and adds, almost to herself, "The answer must lie in the attempt."
In the end, perhaps the only failure is...not trying.
The man says he doesn't think his problem is commitment. He says he is not afraid of that. No, what he is afraid of is failing. He wants to be really good at something, to do well in his life. He thinks that maybe, if he gets tangled up with another human being, somehow everything will be ruined. His life will be forever marked by his failure.
The girl is quiet as he speaks. She watches him with a Mona Lisa smile on her face, and when he finishes his speech, she gently says, "I know. It is almost impossible to succeed really...but who cares?" She looks away and adds, almost to herself, "The answer must lie in the attempt."
In the end, perhaps the only failure is...not trying.
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