Snow Snow Snow

We went skiing today. It was my first time back in the Taynton Bowl. Oh how I miss it. I need to find a ski buddy because one should not be going in there alone. I definitely need a ski buddy. The terrain was easy enough for me and I did not feel any strain on my back. I will continue to be cautious.

It has been snowing all day, and it is supposed to snow all night. When we got home I thought I should seize the day, or the afternoon or whatever so I headed down to our field to do some Kage Ryu. Yep. Snow to me knees.

Wow.

I heart xkcd

Job Interview Today...

Moral of the story... pay for dry cleaning... ironing sucks.

Compy Bites

So, if you are with a dog who isn't terrible familiar with his surroundings, and you happen to be doing a lot of work on the computer and not playing with him he sees the computer as the enemy. This means that when you go out for a few hours and leave the computer out it is in grave peril...

This happened to me. I came home and the computer was on the floor... that was not where I left it. Also so happened that part of the metal framing of the computer was bent outwards. Now that was definitely not there...

It appears that the dog was demonstrating its dominance over the computer...

Gah...

The Pass is Open!!!

Pffft... I'm staying here

Today at 5ishpm Highway 93 was opened. Who knows how long it will stay open for... whatevs. Assuming plans hold as they are I am here till Friday...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Still trapped... in Paradise.

Yep. The roads are still closed. Actually, I think things are getting worse and not better on that front. Highway 1 is not not expected to open until Wednesday at the earliest and they have given up on guessing a time. Highway 93 has been pushed back to noon tomorrow... but... that is what they did today. The last pass is through Fernie, and I have heard mixed rumours there. There was a crash so I think it was closed for a while but now I think it has just got a delay.

So, in lieu of all of this Tru and I are chillin'. Turns out that I don't have a huge hurry to return to Calgary as I can do most of my work from here. Unfortunately, I cannot do all of my work from here so I will have to make it back eventually. But, eventually is not today. That is what matters.

Actually, I think I might spend a few more days out here. I have some errands, and with the workers now showing up I can make sure that nothing goes awry. Postponing my job search for a few days won't kill me.

Yep. Vacation 2.0!

Stuck in BC... Shucks!

We were all going to head home today. Our plans were made and we had some stuff to sort out, but after a bit of skiing we were going to head home. This morning we got a call from my Brother-In-Law's Father (whatever that is to me). He said that there had been avalanches in the main passes from Invermere to Calgary.

Oh oh.

We turned on a computer to confirm on the Internet. Yep. Highway 93 from Radium to Calgary was closed for avalanches and potential avalanches. That was unfortunate but not the end of the world. The next shortest route is through Golden and it only adds another hour onto the trip. We kept reading. Highway 1 from Golden to Lake Louise was closed. Highway 1 looks like it is not expected to be opened until Tuesday, and 93, well... we called the Park and they said at this point it is closed indefinitely. Great.

My sister starts her first day back from maternity leave tomorrow. She has to be there. The next pass is the croswnest pass. This takes our regular drive of three hours and extends it to six and a half hours. Since they have to go to Airdrie and back it will be seven and a half by the time they get home.

Weighing their options carefully they decided to head home through Fernie and just take the extra time. They packed as fast as they could and they booked it outta here. They are still on the road some four hours later. The roads are still closed and who knows when they will be open.

Fortunately, I am still retired so here I am, waiting out the storm so to speak. We would never had guessed that the roads were all avalanchy from here. The weather is ok, though we have been having snow and now rain. Unbelievable. -32 last Wednesday and 2 here today. Tru (who is staying with me to make the trip home easier) and I went for a walk in the rain... it was lovely.

Oh yeah... where was I? Anyways. I will head home with Tru whenever the roads open... and then I will look for jobs... Hmm... I guess I may as well postpone my diet until then too.

Yayyyyy slurpees tomorrow!!!

What's in a Story?

So, I'm writing again. It is slow going, but it is going. I don't really have a plan, I am just writing. I hope that somehow I can make this mishmash of thought and emotion turn into something amazing. Mind you, I have hoped for many things. At least in this case, if I fail I can try again and again.

We will see what happens... even I don't know how this ends.

Frostbite.

So, yesterday when I was skiing at -32 C there is a slight, ok... a very good chance... that I may have frost bitten my face. I am not too concerned about this, its like a sunburn but backwards. If you know what I mean. Anyways, what I am curious about is how I managed to only freeze a little portion of my right cheek. It is now bright red and all... asymmetrical.

I am not sure how I managed to pull that one off but it certainly makes me look special.

Today there was about 20 cm of fresh snow of Panorama. That is a lot. Naturally I was out there enjoying the powder. I must say, powder skiing uses totally different muscles than regular skiing and my legs are fried. It was good though. When I got down the hill I noticed something on my face...

More frostbite!!!

Now I look extra special with my little bits of frozen skin all bright red and... frozey.

Crap.

If it is -20 C or colder tomorrow I am going to make myself wear a neck warmer no matter how got I get!

Skiing at -32

The cons are that you cannot feel your toes, fingers, or nose, but the pros are that you are the only one on the hill. I only skied for half a day, but it was a great day to just open up and carve. Without any other skidestrians it was easy to hit extremely high speeds without any risk of ski patrol having a hissy fit. The groomers were in perfect shape and I don't think that I have hit speeds like that in some time.

I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow.

As for tomorrow, and as for yesterday, I seem to have to pass from one day to the next with an attempt at sleep. I have been very tired lately so I have been going to bed at a good time, but then when I am there I cannot fall asleep, and then in the morning I wake up with great pain. This is pretty usual, but what has been added is that I can hear the mice running in the walls. I had hoped that we had killed all of the mice since only one of six traps had been triggered, but it would seem not. I have moved some traps with the hope that I will fall asleep to not the clatter of scampy feet, but instead snap snap snap.

We will see.

Anyways. It is very very cold, probably -20 outside the door right now. Time to get to work, and then time to write...

Why I Fried a $10 Steak...

So. I have come to Bella Vista to have a ski vacation. This is to try and hang onto whatever is left of my sanity; it its not all gone already.

Anyways, I was going to barbecue myself a huge steak but have run into an issue... my safety. Some might already know that the roof here is made of tin, and also that it slopes outwards. This means that when I am at the barbecue the roof slopes towards me. Hanging slightly off the roof has been a sheet of ice with icicles hanging down. When I barbecue, they rain on me. No problem here right?

Well, the temperature here is above zero. This means that the roof is warming up and that the sheets of snow and ice are preparing to take flight. I have been here a few hours now and you can hear the ice sheets sliding off of the roof. When I was outside I could see where a sheet of ice broke off and launched itself six or seven feet away from the roof. A moment ago I heard what I thought was lightning... not lightning... probably one or two hundred pounds of snow and ice taking flight off the roof and into the abyss.

Now we get to why I fried a $10 dollar steak (or about to). Those rainy icicles have been taunting me all winter... I have been fine so far, but fate has a sense of humour. Why tempt it? I'll fry my stake and I won't give them the chance to condromble me.

Now watch as I burn myself or something... frik...

GIMYSSM...

SSM...

Black Swan

Some of you may have heard of Swan Lake. It is a story about life and about love. Black Swan is a story about the story behind the story of Swan Lake. It is the story about the beautiful White Swan, and the dark and seductive Black Swan.

This movie has had incredible reviews. It has had favourable reviews for many different reasons, and perhaps part of its success is that it can bring in viewers looking for different things. Some viewers love ballet. Some viewers love to be surprised. Some viewers love women. And some viewers just love Natalie Portman. Well, probably most viewers love Natalie Portman.

I saw this movie last night, and though it was a bit edgy for me, I thought it was an incredible show. I also have the feeling, just gauging the audience from last night that not everyone caught the complete story. Sure, there is the surface plot, but there are deep metaphorical tellings of the the Swan Queen.

Nina Sayers (Portman) is the Swan Queen, as a dancer and as a character. The same tragedy that rips apart the swan she portrays, rips her life into pieces.

A story within a story.

Not for the faint of heart, but brilliant.

Back to Calgary

The Full Moon

I am back in Calgary for a few days.

I cannot believe that it has already been two weeks. I guess I have no concept of time nowadays, but still... two weeks!

Rift

Night and Day

Earthlight

It has been an amazing two weeks. It has been challenging as I am trying to come to terms with my new singleness, but I am still kicking. I have tried to enjoy that free time I have. I have skied seven days, which gives me great joy. My body is gaining strength, and though I still have pain, I feel stronger every day. I was able to see some amazing things. I saw an eclipse of a full moon on the winter solstice, and I watched fireworks with the Willbillies. I also caught a few glimpses of the two (there were three) wild turkeys waddling around our house near Wilmer.

Turkeys on the Loose

Christmas with the Willbillies

Lightsplosion

Clarity

I will start looking for work soon, but there is still time. After these few days in Calgary I will return to BC for a vacation. There I will write, and ski, and play trumpet. Hopefully I find some clarity there before returning to Calgary to start a real life.

We will see.

Anyways, I lost my camera charger (it is now found) so I have very few photos from my last two weeks, but the ones I have are quite incredible. As always you can follow the "Things I've Seen" link on the left to check my photos (new photos in "Columbia Valley"), but, for those of you who don't have the time, here is a sample...