Trip to TX

I made the long drive from Vail to Austin this weekend. I left Friday after work and took off to Albuquerque. My sister was visiting her friend Rachael there, so I spent the night at her place. My first stop on the way to ABQ was in good ol' Leadville. And where else would you find a gas station like this?
After about 3 hours of driving I was in a valley with the moon rising on my left and the sun setting on my right. It was gorgeous. The song I was listening to was erfect also. It was slowly building up as the sun was setting and just as it was sinking below the mountain horizon, the music perfectly calmed. One of those times when it seems that everything was aligned perfectly.
The rest of the drive was pretty tame into ABQ. I got in around midnight and finally had a little dinner. Went to breakfast with MEW and Matt the next morning at The Flying Star. It was really good to have food from somewhere other than the Vail Valley. Finally got on the road at 11 a.m. and took off like a... well I only went about 5 over the speed limit the whole drive so it wasn't that fast.

It was a pretty drive. Great terrain all around. I started to get a little sleepy, but more just tired. I never felt like my eyes were going to shut, just a little less lucid. Ate lunch in Carlsbad, NM at about 4 and woke right up. Hit the TX border and it was smooth sailing from there. In case you can't read the bottom of the sign, it says "Proud home of President George W. Bush." No comment.
Once I got on I-10, I tried my best to take advantage of the daylight and 80 mph speed limit. But the sunset in my sideview mirror kept catching my attention so I pulled over for a little photo shoot.
Austin came to me around midnight, but I lost an hour so it was really about 1 a.m. and I was pooped. The Red Bull and Paydays kept me awake but I was wiped out. That last hour or so of driving on 290 seemed like an eternity. I had to be super careful because deer were all over the side of the road and I had already hit a little bird in New Mexico. I didn't really feel like making deer sausage.


So here I am back in beautiful Austin, TX. Don't have alot of plans for the week but to relax, catch up with friends, and eat some Tex-Mex.

End of Season Craziness

The 2007-2008 ski season at Vail is over. I took to the slopes for the last 5 days and made the most of it. Days of dumping snow and one last day ending with beautiful sunshine. Robin cruised the slopes with me on Saturday and I spent Sunday romping around with Chris. Now I know where Blue Sky Basin gets the name.


My roommate Luke brought out his favorite outfit for the closing day festivities.

Here's a shot of me jumping off a little bump. It's pretty hard to see, but amusing none the less.

All in all it was a great season with lots of great experiences. I even enjoyed hanging out with Chris on the porch after a long day of skiing.

After work on Monday we hung out in the front yard. It was a gorgeous day. I managed to run over Luke's sunglasses and thus become a pirate-sheriff.

Spring in Vail

So how was your spring morning. I was greeted with 3 inches of snow.I went skiing today and the powder was really heavy and took alot of energy to keep from falling. I can't believe the mountain closes on Sunday when we are still getting so much snow. I guess I'll have to do some hiking up the mountain so I can ski down while we still have snow.

The ribs are doing better, but still pretty annoying. Especially when I am using my poles to push myself along while skiing... either then or when I breath.

This weekend should be fun. There are alot of events for the end of the season. Saturday is pond skimming. A bunch of drunk people dressing up and seeing how far they can ski/ride across a pool of water.

Coming to town

For all of you who want to know (and actually read this thing) I will be headed to TX around April 19th or 20th. I'll be in Austin until Sunday the 27th when I go to Houston to pick up my roommate for the drive back through Arlington/Dallas.

It's Official!!!

I got my American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid card today. I can attempt to bring you back from certain death! It probably won't do you any good because most people who need CPR will die anyway. But there is that rare case where it will keep enough pressure coursing through your little veins to deliver oxygen to your vital organs until an ambulance comes to take you away. In that case, congratulations! I will be a hero and you may survive.



They also taught me a bunch of cool stuff about more practical first aid. What's that you say? You're allergic to bees? If you can't administer your Epi pen, I can help you. A simple jab in your thigh and a little rubbing could be all that you need.

Whatever you do, don't sneeze

Holy hell. I sneezed at work this morning and felt like I was going to die. My chest exploded and all my intenal organs sprayed across the room as I sat in agony holding what was left of my torso. This is what I looked like after the big sneeze. ->

OK, so maybe it wasn't that bad, but it didn't feel very good. Plus my nipples aren't that bloody most of the time.

March

I didn't write at all in March. I'm sorry, I messed up.

It was a good month with great visitors. My dad came in town the first weekend in March and we had a great time exploring the slopes. But what I actually enjoyed the most was resting in the hot tub, watching the stars, and just conver-sating.

A few weeks later Shiloh came to visit. SO MUCH FUN!!! I just wish I was able to take more time off work while she was here. We still got in a good amount of skiing and got to hang out with my roommates a good bit. Her flight was scheduled to leave Sunday afternoon, but it was delayed. darn. Instead we cooked up a great dinner and got to spend more time together.

I bought my first set of skis and boots at the end of March. I got Lange WC 100 boots and K2 Apache Recon skis. They have made a huge difference in my skiing. I just wish I had got them earlier in the season. Then again, it just makes me appreciate them more.

Ohh the pain!

So it finally happened, I hurt myself skiing. I knew it was just a matter of time. Luckily it's not too bad.

Saturday I went skiing and I was in Blue Sky Basin on the way to The Grand Review. It is a pretty open area with scattered trees. Before and after the trees there are little jumps. I was planning on just skiing down and heading home because I was tired. But I couldn't resist taking a few little jumps on my way down. After all, what could it hurt? Well I found out it could hurt ALOT!!! I came up to a jump that dipped down a little and then shot straight up about 2 feet. Basically I ran into a wall with my skis and went flying. Both skis came off (luckily) and I landed on my right side with my right hand/pole under my ribs. Totally knocked all the air out of me. For several seconds I tried to get any air in or out, but nothing happened. After clearing all the snow out of my mouth, I eventually managed to gasp for a desperate breath of air. Damn did that hurt. I sat there for a second and tried to take inventory of the damages. Extremities seemed ok, may have broken a rib, head was ok. Gasping for air and crawling to my ejected skis a guy skied up to see if I needed help. I was so embarassed and I still couldn't really breath. i somehow told him I was ok, got back on my skis and SLOWLY made my way back. That took at least 30 minutes.

After changing clothes and eating lunch I went to the urgent care center in Avon. Luckily they were slow so I got in pretty quick. They took some x-rays and did their check. They couldn't see any broken ribs and it didn't appear that I had any internal organ damage. So they sent me packing with a rib brace and some pain killers.

Of course it had to dump snow on Sunday night. We got 14 inches of fresh, beautiful powder, and I was stuck wearing a corset and gasping for breath. So what lesson did I learn? I'll have to get back to you on that. All I know is I'm skiing tomorrow.

Thursday and Friday I go to Denver for a Workers' Comp Training session. They put me up in a hotel and all, so it's kinda cool. I'll get to see Robin Wednesday and maybe Thursday night for a few drinks before he takes off for the weekend.