the year begins
the past two weeks have been good ones. the day after christmas i hopped aboard a southwest flight to manchester, nh, and an hour later i was reunited with the subi, and better yet, the rotten one, and we made our way back to his hometown of westbrook, maine. i think i love maine. there are countless lakes, the ocean is nearby, and there are mountains, both ski hills and hiking hills. and, snow tubing hills. we spent friday afternoon laughing like little kids and flying down the hill at ridiculous speeds. the bumps tried to dislodge us from the tubes, the spinning made us dizzy as we stood up at the bottom, and there were at least a couple of thomas brother sandwiches that made me laugh. i haven't been tubing since a winter in minnesota when i was in middle school; this was a great way to spend a winter afternoon. i'm tempted to try it again if they have it at snowbird.
after the rest of the weekend in maine, which included some delicious dinners and meeting rotten's high school friends, we took off for north conway, new hampshire, where the usual new year's crew had rented ourselves a cougar den for the entire next week. our digs at spruce mountain lodge have been revoked since our singular hampster resident relocated to boston this fall. we ended up staying a bit farther away from jackson, but closer to a couple of the ski mountains and downtown north conway, which made for handy grocery and liquor trips. we kicked things off by heading to ems for an east coast ski movie, followed by dinner at the den a la homero. it is always good to be reunited with friends following a long time apart. i was happy to be in the warm condo, though i was already feeling tired from my busy schedule in the past couple of weeks.
on monday we did some extreme cross country skiing at jackson ski touring center. you could say it was pretty serious. we skied across the icy trails and along a river, up and down hills. it was a challenge to keep up with the group, which frustrated me a bit, but when i stopped to look at the trees, mountains, or water, or just laugh at someone hucking themselves off a huge kicker, i was happy. i seem to have lost some fitness in the past year, but i am still thankful to be able to go out in the woods with my friends.
on monday night we were treated to a feast of baked brie, shrimp, moose (yes, moose!) stew, salad, fruit salad, and chocolate mousse for dessert up at the farm. windy hill bed and breakfast served as homero's home for a stretch and over that time many of us ended up being guests on the living room floor. we would do chores in the evenings, either delivering wood or moving hay bales or feeding the various animals that called the farm home at the time. we always had incredible meals and i fell in love with the views of the white mountains from the hill. it sounds cheesy, but it really did warm my heart to be there monday night, at a full table, with full bellies, laughing about the day and about the evening, and feeling at home again in new hampshire.
tuesday we skied at attitash. you could call the conditions "variable", leaning toward the flat-out "icy" side. the morning went well, but as the slopes became skied off and my already dull edges refused to help me in the ice, i think i was actually ready for the end of the day. we laughed and laughed as we filmed each other skiing the runs, and once again i found myself trying to keep it all in perspective as i struggled to keep up with the group on my tele skis. four years ago i told myself i'd never alpine ski again, and last year i had to do it in whistler. i had a great time, and actually bought new alpine skis for snowbird and out west this year. but i told myself i'd never alpine ski on the east coast, and after tuesday at attitash i made the tough call to alpine ski on wednesday. it makes no difference to anyone but me; it is another small sign that cancer has taken things from me, slowly. carving down the mountain on alpine skis gives me certain joy, but it was tough to cross that bridge in new hampshire, which is where i learned to tele, and where i had hoped to maybe, maybe do some backcountry skiing this spring. i'm not sure the hiking and skiing will be there for me... but it was nice to be there this week.
other events throughout the week included drinking white russians while watching the dude abide (i even had one!), a frigid day of skiing at bretton woods (i had to buy hand warmers!), and fireworks for new year's, following an intense bag game won by barney. who knew he had such balance, determination, and bendi-ness!
on new year's day it was way too cold to be outside, so after a delicious breakfast with samara up in gorham, the remaining revelers supported the economy and did some outlet shopping. i coached rotten on work clothes selection while he danced around the dressing room. we all went home to watch penn state lose. it was pretty quiet by the end of the second quarter. the highlight of the game might have been the blue band. yes, it was the blue band, i'm sure.
we closed the weekend with a morning of skiing at black mountain in jackson. i got in a few more runs on my tele skis, which i was hoping would redeem the frustrations from earlier in the week. the looming return to reality, not just work, as everyone had to do that, but the cancer life, was weighing heavily on my mind. there in my favorite mountains with some of my favorite people, i broke down a bit on the ski lift. sad, not angry, about what i had waiting for me when i got home, and sad for what i felt it had taken from me in the past year. combined with being tired from the long and active days, i was facing memories of playing in the woods whenever i had the chance and wondered where i went wrong. it was a low point, but when i could finally get it out of my system i improved. i'm ready to face the chemo tomorrow. and i will be more prepared to face myself the next time i play outside. it isn't anything i ever did. it is just the way it is. the snow, the mountains, the sky - it is all still there, and so am i.
so. the list for 2009. what to do, what to work for, where to go. we'll see what the year holds. it is pretty tough to make plans but it keeps me motivated and on my toes.
1. be happier with my circumstances
2. be more calm
3. consolidate banks
4. complete a half marathon - march
5. ride a metric century - april or may
6. ride a century - august or october
7. do more yoga
8. eat out less
9. put together an event for livestrong day, 10/2
10. put together a party for my 3 year anniversary, 10/24
11. join a support group at the wellness community
12. ski somewhere new
13. visit southwestern US national parks
14. visit yosemite
15. visit chile
16. visit the cabin
17. visit the condo
18. visit ireland
19. survive
after the rest of the weekend in maine, which included some delicious dinners and meeting rotten's high school friends, we took off for north conway, new hampshire, where the usual new year's crew had rented ourselves a cougar den for the entire next week. our digs at spruce mountain lodge have been revoked since our singular hampster resident relocated to boston this fall. we ended up staying a bit farther away from jackson, but closer to a couple of the ski mountains and downtown north conway, which made for handy grocery and liquor trips. we kicked things off by heading to ems for an east coast ski movie, followed by dinner at the den a la homero. it is always good to be reunited with friends following a long time apart. i was happy to be in the warm condo, though i was already feeling tired from my busy schedule in the past couple of weeks.
on monday we did some extreme cross country skiing at jackson ski touring center. you could say it was pretty serious. we skied across the icy trails and along a river, up and down hills. it was a challenge to keep up with the group, which frustrated me a bit, but when i stopped to look at the trees, mountains, or water, or just laugh at someone hucking themselves off a huge kicker, i was happy. i seem to have lost some fitness in the past year, but i am still thankful to be able to go out in the woods with my friends.
on monday night we were treated to a feast of baked brie, shrimp, moose (yes, moose!) stew, salad, fruit salad, and chocolate mousse for dessert up at the farm. windy hill bed and breakfast served as homero's home for a stretch and over that time many of us ended up being guests on the living room floor. we would do chores in the evenings, either delivering wood or moving hay bales or feeding the various animals that called the farm home at the time. we always had incredible meals and i fell in love with the views of the white mountains from the hill. it sounds cheesy, but it really did warm my heart to be there monday night, at a full table, with full bellies, laughing about the day and about the evening, and feeling at home again in new hampshire.
tuesday we skied at attitash. you could call the conditions "variable", leaning toward the flat-out "icy" side. the morning went well, but as the slopes became skied off and my already dull edges refused to help me in the ice, i think i was actually ready for the end of the day. we laughed and laughed as we filmed each other skiing the runs, and once again i found myself trying to keep it all in perspective as i struggled to keep up with the group on my tele skis. four years ago i told myself i'd never alpine ski again, and last year i had to do it in whistler. i had a great time, and actually bought new alpine skis for snowbird and out west this year. but i told myself i'd never alpine ski on the east coast, and after tuesday at attitash i made the tough call to alpine ski on wednesday. it makes no difference to anyone but me; it is another small sign that cancer has taken things from me, slowly. carving down the mountain on alpine skis gives me certain joy, but it was tough to cross that bridge in new hampshire, which is where i learned to tele, and where i had hoped to maybe, maybe do some backcountry skiing this spring. i'm not sure the hiking and skiing will be there for me... but it was nice to be there this week.
other events throughout the week included drinking white russians while watching the dude abide (i even had one!), a frigid day of skiing at bretton woods (i had to buy hand warmers!), and fireworks for new year's, following an intense bag game won by barney. who knew he had such balance, determination, and bendi-ness!
on new year's day it was way too cold to be outside, so after a delicious breakfast with samara up in gorham, the remaining revelers supported the economy and did some outlet shopping. i coached rotten on work clothes selection while he danced around the dressing room. we all went home to watch penn state lose. it was pretty quiet by the end of the second quarter. the highlight of the game might have been the blue band. yes, it was the blue band, i'm sure.
we closed the weekend with a morning of skiing at black mountain in jackson. i got in a few more runs on my tele skis, which i was hoping would redeem the frustrations from earlier in the week. the looming return to reality, not just work, as everyone had to do that, but the cancer life, was weighing heavily on my mind. there in my favorite mountains with some of my favorite people, i broke down a bit on the ski lift. sad, not angry, about what i had waiting for me when i got home, and sad for what i felt it had taken from me in the past year. combined with being tired from the long and active days, i was facing memories of playing in the woods whenever i had the chance and wondered where i went wrong. it was a low point, but when i could finally get it out of my system i improved. i'm ready to face the chemo tomorrow. and i will be more prepared to face myself the next time i play outside. it isn't anything i ever did. it is just the way it is. the snow, the mountains, the sky - it is all still there, and so am i.
so. the list for 2009. what to do, what to work for, where to go. we'll see what the year holds. it is pretty tough to make plans but it keeps me motivated and on my toes.
1. be happier with my circumstances
2. be more calm
3. consolidate banks
4. complete a half marathon - march
5. ride a metric century - april or may
6. ride a century - august or october
7. do more yoga
8. eat out less
9. put together an event for livestrong day, 10/2
10. put together a party for my 3 year anniversary, 10/24
11. join a support group at the wellness community
12. ski somewhere new
13. visit southwestern US national parks
14. visit yosemite
15. visit chile
16. visit the cabin
17. visit the condo
18. visit ireland
19. survive
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