To paraphrase the famous sage, Willy Wonka: So much time, so little to write about. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.
I’ve got two posts in the hopper, one on an article from BBC News about Scottish identity, the other a reaction to a New York Times piece on medical marijuana.
One hits home and the other seems like a major red flag to me.
So, stay tuned and find out which is which.
Well, it didn’t look much like the photo here, with rain falling on us all day, but we managed to have a great time.
At first, when we realized that the weather forecast had lied to us for the millionth time, we were all a bit disappointed. There was plenty of snow, since 200 inches had fallen in November, but snow wear and rain wear are two very different things. Our poly underwear, jackets, pants and gloves keep us dry and toasty all day when it’s snowing or clear on the mountain, yet our gear is not waterproof and we were soaked through by lunchtime.
Still, it was our first ski/snowboard trip of the year, the slopes were wide open because of a low turnout, so with no long lines at the lifts we crammed in a lot of runs and had a lot of fun. I’m able to keep up with my wife and son a lot better, and so we had more together time.
A friend of ours likes to say, “It’s all skiing!” It’s kinda like the bumper sticker that says, “A bad day _________ is better than a good day at work.” Yet, our friend’s saying is broader than that. To him setting the alarm to get up early the night before is skiing. Packing the car in the morning is skiing. Driving that long, winding road to the ski area is skiing… well, you get the idea.
So the rain? It’s all skiing!
I’m not a morning person, and I don’t like going to bed early. However, there is one thing that will highly motivate me to hit the sack several hours before my normal bedtime, and do so filled with excitement, like I’m a little kid the night before Christmas or something.
Tomorrow morning will be our first trip to Mt. Baker this season, and I’m already in bed and in my jammies as I write this.
The snow report looks great, the weather forecast appears to be highly favorable, and we’ll be driving up more relaxed than ever before, in the improved safety of our new-used 4-wheel drive Hyundai Santa Fe.
I have a goal to get up to Chair 8 this season, I’m pretty sure that it won’t be this first trip, but I’m determined to get there as soon as possible.
Wish me luck!
It’s very unlikely that I’ll be adding new posts for the next few days, friends.
I might be able to sneak something in, but I can’t promise anything, and don’t even think about 10:10.
Once again. Happy Thanksgiving!
Doh! Not that turkey! (Damned Google Images!)
Doh! Not with the feathers still on! I look at that
photo too long and it’s back to Tofurky for me.
Ah! That’s better.
You know that happy, contented, sleepy feeling you get after a Thanksgiving meal with your family, even if spending time with your family is no picnic?
Well, on this Thanksgiving be sure to thank the turkey for that. Turkey has high levels of L-Tryptophan, an amino acid that brings on the happy sleepies, and which looks like this:
And so we thank the turkey for looking SO much more appetizing, with its golden brown skin, stuffed with dressing, and cranberries on the side.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
See that?! That’s my pride and joy! That’s my 12-year old son Julian, competing in the 14th Annual Seattle Bouldering Challenge (SBC) at the Stone Gardens Climbing Gym in Seattle.
Hundreds of climbers competed in the event this past Saturday, and Julian came in 6th out of 36 in his division. He’s been rock climbing for years now, but only joined the climbing team at the Whatcom YMCA about six months ago.
For those not in the know, bouldering consists of climbing challenging routes, called problems, without a harness and rope, using a crash pad for safety. In climbing gyms, the routes/problems consist of a series of holds marked with colored tape. The problems in the SBC were given point values, from easy to difficult, and each climber wandered around attempting the problems, trying to earn as many points as possible. They got 5 attempts at a given problem, and only earned the points if they completed it by reaching the end point in total control, with both hands on the last hold, having used only the holds marked for that problem.
In the photo here, you can see Julian making a big reach, not easy to do, requiring a lot of hand, wrist, and arm strength. He is so into the sport these days that, in addition to rigorous team practices twice a week, two hours a pop, he regularly spends time in his room doing even more conditioning: push-ups, crunches, pull-ups, etc.
The most satisfying thing a parent can experience, I think, is when you see that your child is passionate about something positive, internally motivated to learn, progress, and achieve. It seems to stem from and builds a level of self-confidence that really helps a person in life.
I’m so excited to see where this takes him.
