The last two Sundays I've been out skiing! So it'll be slightly rough going into work today.
Three weeks ago I went for the first time with my mom. We went to Whitetail, which is a resort right on the MD and PA border. We rented equipment and had our first lesson, which took two hours or so. Even moving around in them was awkward at first, but I feel like I was a quick learner. My first time down the hill I couldn't stop staring at my skis! I was so nervous! The instructor yelled "You don't drive your car staring at your steering wheel, do you!?" So, with my head up, the next time I made it down the slope just fine.
My mom was getting the hang of it, too. And for the rest of our trip we went up and down the bunny hill. We had restricted lift tickets. It was alright, except for it takes about 5 minutes to get up to the top of the hill with the lift, and 30 seconds to come back down on skis.
The next Sunday, Marco, Khai and I pulled off a spontaneous trip back to Whitetail. It was Khai's first time, so Marco spent a lot of time teaching Khai the basics. I dropped in from time to time but, although a lot of it is muscle memory, I spent a good percentage of the first half of the day remembering all the things I had learned the previous weekend.
Eventually we all went down together. And then, we all went on a curvy green slope on the next hill over. It has its share of manageable hills and then, for my skill level, hair raising moments. There's also ledges on the side which you can hop onto and hop off and get some air. I was figuring out how to skate at the top of the hill and a more efficient way to carve.
But that wasn't enough and eventually Marco and I took on a blue slope! That was intense! I had a smile glued to my face, I could feel it, and I was on the most extreme adreniline rush ever! It was towards the end of the day, so a lot of the soft snow had been pushed aside in places and there was nothing but ice underneath. "Making a pizza" could not save me on this slope. In fact, carving could hardly save me on this slope. Sometimes I guess the only choice you have in skiing is to put them both forward and go full speed ahead and hope for the best.
I did fall a couple of times. Once I fell backwards because I was trying to carve but was going too fast, so I was still moving with my skis but my back was dragging on the ground. I lifted myself up straight and just kept going without stopping! Another time I wiped out completely, right under the ski lift. Awkward. Most of the times I just got way too nervous and as a result lost control.
So skiing is a lot of fun! I'm going one more time this year, I think. I'm really looking forward to it. Next year I'm getting a pass so that I get 40% off all lift tickets at Whitetail, and the plan is to buy my own gear. The plan is to get all our friends addicted so we can go on more ambitious ski trips out west. I think a big trip with friends in general would be pretty sweet. I've never been on an airplane with friends before. And I think the furthest I've been with friends is Boston, and that's only with the Orchestra. And I hardly remember that trip, because we were the age when we all had our heads glued to our Walkmen and Gameboys.
This is the worst I've written in a while. It is 5AM. I'm going to watch Cycling Central now. Last week's episode. I'm really hooked to it. I could watch cycling all day, probably.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Archery
I tried archery for the first time on Valentines Day. We were supposed to do archery in high school but I think it snowed or something so we ended up sitting around inside instead. Anyway, Chloe and I went to Fort Belvoir for their weekly beginner lessons. Apparently the facility there is the best on the east coast... well, according to them anyway. The range itself looked a bit ghetto, but I guess you can only get so nice if it is something that you build every morning and break down every night (and gets shot full of holes all day in the meantime by beginners like myself).
First thing I learned was that I'm right eye dominant. As a kid I was always fascinated when I would have both eyes open, and then close one eye and watch the image suddenly jump to the left. Well, I never really got the whole "eye dominance" thing defined to me, but basically when I close my right eye, the image shifts from when I have both my eyes open... which means that the right eye is doing all of the positioning in my vision. I guess people who were right handed and left eye dominant were kind of screwed, like Chloe, but she got over it I guess, considering she was shooting better than I was after a while.
There were two types of bows you could learn at Ft. Belvoir; Composite and Recurve. Honestly, composite looks more bad ass and is definitely more high tech... but archery is such an old and outdated sport (IMO, sorry, that doesn't mean it's not cool) so why would you develop new and flashy equipment for it? Keep it simple, stupid. That being said, the arrows are carbon fiber, which are kind of cool. Apparently the stiff/light combo is ideal for arrows. Makes sense. Anyway..
The goal wasn't really to hit the target, but to get all of your arrows in one spot, which showed consistency in posture and form (I applied this philosophy towards Darts tonight, I think it helped me a lot, but that's another story). Well, I managed to do that, even though the spot they ended up were on the next guy's target. Eventually I started adjusting my aim and eventually I got them on my own target after a few more rounds.
Towards the end of the night I actually hit a bulls eye! And popped some balloons. It was pretty rewarding to hear that pop sound at the end of the range.
Two of my balloons I popped. (Yeah, you probably could've used your imagination on this one.)
I don't think I'll ever go bow hunting, but I do enjoy the target range stuff and I think I'll go back sometime soon.
I know it's about a week late (it's flown by!), but I had a really good Valentines Day, even though it was Monday, which is really one of the worst days of the week for me, schedule wise. I tried out archery, and even more exciting... I had a Valentine! Her name is Amanda.. we've been talking a lot and getting to know each other pretty well. :) I'm not really sure where things are going to end up, but sometimes those are the most exciting... and all you can do is put yourself out there and hope for something great.
First thing I learned was that I'm right eye dominant. As a kid I was always fascinated when I would have both eyes open, and then close one eye and watch the image suddenly jump to the left. Well, I never really got the whole "eye dominance" thing defined to me, but basically when I close my right eye, the image shifts from when I have both my eyes open... which means that the right eye is doing all of the positioning in my vision. I guess people who were right handed and left eye dominant were kind of screwed, like Chloe, but she got over it I guess, considering she was shooting better than I was after a while.
There were two types of bows you could learn at Ft. Belvoir; Composite and Recurve. Honestly, composite looks more bad ass and is definitely more high tech... but archery is such an old and outdated sport (IMO, sorry, that doesn't mean it's not cool) so why would you develop new and flashy equipment for it? Keep it simple, stupid. That being said, the arrows are carbon fiber, which are kind of cool. Apparently the stiff/light combo is ideal for arrows. Makes sense. Anyway..
The goal wasn't really to hit the target, but to get all of your arrows in one spot, which showed consistency in posture and form (I applied this philosophy towards Darts tonight, I think it helped me a lot, but that's another story). Well, I managed to do that, even though the spot they ended up were on the next guy's target. Eventually I started adjusting my aim and eventually I got them on my own target after a few more rounds.
Towards the end of the night I actually hit a bulls eye! And popped some balloons. It was pretty rewarding to hear that pop sound at the end of the range.
Two of my balloons I popped. (Yeah, you probably could've used your imagination on this one.)
I don't think I'll ever go bow hunting, but I do enjoy the target range stuff and I think I'll go back sometime soon.
I know it's about a week late (it's flown by!), but I had a really good Valentines Day, even though it was Monday, which is really one of the worst days of the week for me, schedule wise. I tried out archery, and even more exciting... I had a Valentine! Her name is Amanda.. we've been talking a lot and getting to know each other pretty well. :) I'm not really sure where things are going to end up, but sometimes those are the most exciting... and all you can do is put yourself out there and hope for something great.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
I'm baaaack!
I really wanted to get up early this coming morning and make some french toast for myself, but clearly that's not going to happen if I'm up, pecking away at the keyboard!
The weather has been incredible! I know it's extremely generic to go on about the weather, but the fact that it has been in the 70's the last couple of days seems quite noteworthy! In fact, today, it hit 77 degrees down in DC which is a record high for this time of year. Of course, it all seems a bit futile when every time I open the weather app on my iPhone, it shows me the weather in Sarasota, FL (long story, will go there some other time). But my mood and general outlook on life always seems to get that rocket boost whenever it's sunny and warm.
So as a result, I've been outdoors as much as possible! Yesterday I biked into DC. I rode a triathlete for a while, but eventually found him to be too slow. And maybe the stereotype about the average triathlete rings true: they really do have terrible bike handling skills! It took the fellow four times the space to make a turn than it did me... I eventually joined up with a pack of roadies for a while. I don't know what it is with roadies but they're always bringing up each other's outfits! For example, I have black cleats, so they expect me to wear black socks to match. So whenever I'm wearing white socks, there's a comment! I even heard the announcer during a Cyclocross race go on about it, which seems even more ridiculous since everything gets covered in mud anyway!
Well I made it down to my normal spots and had a nice leisurely ride home and that was that.
Today I was cooped up in work for most of the day, where the air is stuffy and conspicuously cold. So when I went out to take the trash out at the end of the day, I nearly gave out a shout of joy (I AM alone by the dumpsters, I'll do what I please thank you very much) when I felt that warm sun on my skin.
When I got out, I went out for a super long run. I intended to only run two miles, but it quickly turned into much more than that. At the time, it felt like I could have gone on forever, but now I'm starting to feel a little bit of pain in the heels. I think I needed to do a bit more post-run stretching. I'm not sure. Next time I'll be more diligent. I'm really thrilled though. I'm in the best shape I've been in my whole life, I think. I'm getting prepared for a marathon with my sister. I hope she'll be able to keep up! (Hi Julie! ;))
Then, after a quick ab workout and dinner, I went for a swim.
I joined a new gym. Ex-sport or something like that. It's in Merrifield; equal distance from the other gym to my house, yet in the opposite direction. It's okay, but I feel it's a completely different experience from my former gym. It's like a little posh fitness city in there! You can get your hair cut and then hang out at the smoothie bar, for goodness sake. The reason I joined was to take advantage of the salt water pool. I really haven't done much swimming in my life up until this point, and all that I know about the different strokes I've taught myself. So I'm a bit clueless... I look like a fish does out of a water... which is... a weird metaphor... but it's 1:33 at night now.
..Anyway. I had a great swim. And then I was ready for sleep, when I started having all these thoughts about everything. And they're all great thoughts, but they're keeping me awake!
The other thing that's really been inspiring me this week is watching old recordings of the International Ironman Championships. It's really the most incredible race. 2.something miles of swimming, 100something miles on a bike, and then a marathon. And it's not just the awesome extremes that these people are taking their bodies, it's the stories of the people doing it. Some of the people in these races used to be junkies, or suffering from serious breeds of cancer, or hit by cars, or whatever... I guess it's just beautiful that people are able to overcome whatever is thrown at them and end up conquering something that is (in my opinion) the most incredible test of human indurance. And the other thing that's so inspiring is just how many of these people have nothing at all in common. There's twenty year olds, and there's 80 year olds! There's people of all different nationalities, races, and ethnicities (although Australians keep winning ha). Some of these people have seemingly nothing in common, but they all have this extreme desire to compete in this race. And though it's not the only thing you need to make it to the Ironman championships, I think an undying will and determination to make it there is a big part of it.
So, I'm still hoping to get some French toast in the morning. The cats I'm watching seem to always wake me up around 5:00 in the morning, without fail, for their food. So getting up will be no problem. Maybe I'll go for a run. It's going back down into the 50's, and then dipping low enough for us to get snow again next week. I'm one of those people who only loves the first couple snowfalls.
Speaking of snow (yeah, I'm not ending this blog entry yet), I think Marco and I are heading to Whitetail this Sunday for a skiing session! I'm thrilled. I had my first experience on the slopes in skis (I've done Snowboarding before, and while thrilling, I feel a bit more comfortable on the skis) the other week with my Mom, and I'm hooked now. I might even buy my own gear eventually!
It's going to be a great spring. I can feel it! Now, for sleep, allllll so I can get up for some french toast. :)
The weather has been incredible! I know it's extremely generic to go on about the weather, but the fact that it has been in the 70's the last couple of days seems quite noteworthy! In fact, today, it hit 77 degrees down in DC which is a record high for this time of year. Of course, it all seems a bit futile when every time I open the weather app on my iPhone, it shows me the weather in Sarasota, FL (long story, will go there some other time). But my mood and general outlook on life always seems to get that rocket boost whenever it's sunny and warm.
So as a result, I've been outdoors as much as possible! Yesterday I biked into DC. I rode a triathlete for a while, but eventually found him to be too slow. And maybe the stereotype about the average triathlete rings true: they really do have terrible bike handling skills! It took the fellow four times the space to make a turn than it did me... I eventually joined up with a pack of roadies for a while. I don't know what it is with roadies but they're always bringing up each other's outfits! For example, I have black cleats, so they expect me to wear black socks to match. So whenever I'm wearing white socks, there's a comment! I even heard the announcer during a Cyclocross race go on about it, which seems even more ridiculous since everything gets covered in mud anyway!
Well I made it down to my normal spots and had a nice leisurely ride home and that was that.
Today I was cooped up in work for most of the day, where the air is stuffy and conspicuously cold. So when I went out to take the trash out at the end of the day, I nearly gave out a shout of joy (I AM alone by the dumpsters, I'll do what I please thank you very much) when I felt that warm sun on my skin.
When I got out, I went out for a super long run. I intended to only run two miles, but it quickly turned into much more than that. At the time, it felt like I could have gone on forever, but now I'm starting to feel a little bit of pain in the heels. I think I needed to do a bit more post-run stretching. I'm not sure. Next time I'll be more diligent. I'm really thrilled though. I'm in the best shape I've been in my whole life, I think. I'm getting prepared for a marathon with my sister. I hope she'll be able to keep up! (Hi Julie! ;))
Then, after a quick ab workout and dinner, I went for a swim.
I joined a new gym. Ex-sport or something like that. It's in Merrifield; equal distance from the other gym to my house, yet in the opposite direction. It's okay, but I feel it's a completely different experience from my former gym. It's like a little posh fitness city in there! You can get your hair cut and then hang out at the smoothie bar, for goodness sake. The reason I joined was to take advantage of the salt water pool. I really haven't done much swimming in my life up until this point, and all that I know about the different strokes I've taught myself. So I'm a bit clueless... I look like a fish does out of a water... which is... a weird metaphor... but it's 1:33 at night now.
..Anyway. I had a great swim. And then I was ready for sleep, when I started having all these thoughts about everything. And they're all great thoughts, but they're keeping me awake!
The other thing that's really been inspiring me this week is watching old recordings of the International Ironman Championships. It's really the most incredible race. 2.something miles of swimming, 100something miles on a bike, and then a marathon. And it's not just the awesome extremes that these people are taking their bodies, it's the stories of the people doing it. Some of the people in these races used to be junkies, or suffering from serious breeds of cancer, or hit by cars, or whatever... I guess it's just beautiful that people are able to overcome whatever is thrown at them and end up conquering something that is (in my opinion) the most incredible test of human indurance. And the other thing that's so inspiring is just how many of these people have nothing at all in common. There's twenty year olds, and there's 80 year olds! There's people of all different nationalities, races, and ethnicities (although Australians keep winning ha). Some of these people have seemingly nothing in common, but they all have this extreme desire to compete in this race. And though it's not the only thing you need to make it to the Ironman championships, I think an undying will and determination to make it there is a big part of it.
So, I'm still hoping to get some French toast in the morning. The cats I'm watching seem to always wake me up around 5:00 in the morning, without fail, for their food. So getting up will be no problem. Maybe I'll go for a run. It's going back down into the 50's, and then dipping low enough for us to get snow again next week. I'm one of those people who only loves the first couple snowfalls.
Speaking of snow (yeah, I'm not ending this blog entry yet), I think Marco and I are heading to Whitetail this Sunday for a skiing session! I'm thrilled. I had my first experience on the slopes in skis (I've done Snowboarding before, and while thrilling, I feel a bit more comfortable on the skis) the other week with my Mom, and I'm hooked now. I might even buy my own gear eventually!
It's going to be a great spring. I can feel it! Now, for sleep, allllll so I can get up for some french toast. :)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Boring short story about more trouble on Belle Isle
We arrived at Belle Isle around noon, and everyone was lounging around on 5 easily accessible rocks. We needed more personal space, and it's no fun just sitting around on a rock anyway, so we decided to attempt a swim to one of the more obscure rocks, which no one was on.
It wasn't that hard getting there; we found a plastic zip lock bag to put all of our electronics on, put the backpack on Paul's head (because the water was up to our necks at one point,) and headed downstream. It was sweet having an island to ourselves, feeling pretty good about doing something no one else had the guts to do...
So we hung out for a while, and then when it was time to go back, we realized the tide had rose and the current was going a lot faster. Paul was freaking out and insisted that we don't attempt a jump. The vultures started circling us. We waited until Khai and Mason arrived (with a cargo net...) which finally gave us the courage to jump to shore...
I think we all got a few cuts on our legs, but other than that, we left unscathed. I don't know why we always get into trouble when we go to Belle Isle.
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