Monday, February 2, 2009

I'm aliiiiiiiive!

Kinda. haha That picture I posted on Friday was scarily accurate to how yesterday's humbling experience ended up! And boy do I fucking hurt! My fingers are even sore. However, I'm extremely grateful for the amazing girl that I have in my life.

First and foremost I have to recap my first snowboarding experience.. because this is something that has to be put down to be remembered. I will post pics of the trip into a separate blog later.

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I talked a lot of shit. Kind of the normal shit I talk with everything else. Because really, why would snowboarding be any different from other activities I do? God granted me the ability to pick things up and run with them very easily. Sports, technology, life, I learn and go forward. Usually from a crawl to a walk to a run very fast. Failure's never been an option, neither has having to work really hard at things. It just works.

But not this time.

Oh no, God decided that while other activities in life may come easier, this was one activity I need to work at. But the thing is, I'll do just that. I'm too stubborn to give up and really, I fucking hate to lose. HATE to lose. Especially since I'm losing to myself and SNOW. A frickin' inanimate object. How the hell do you lose to something that isn't even trying to compete with you?!

The chair lift went pretty well. I didn't really fall getting off the first one like PB thought (figured) I would. She tried her little initiation "push" which I balanced and stayed up on. There's hope! I could be good! Or...... not. I promptly ate it the whole way down. Sitting and reflecting and getting frustrated each dump. It took me way too long to get down that first run because I wasn't sure how to deal with my frustration. About half way down that first slide, the back of the board cut in hard and while I was very tense, I tried to counter that idea like a dumbass. As I felt the pop of my knee, about 10 seconds later I hit the ground. What I screamed inside my head is not safe to post on this blog, even for me. PB knew something was up based off my reaction.. I mean, really, I don't get hurt, not much. But I made it down, and it hurt.. She made a quick run after that, while I tweaked with my bindings a bit, trying to find my balance. We took a quick break for batteries and a shot (or two), then it was back to the mountain.

We decided it was about lunch time & PB really wanted one of the restaurants that are up on the mountain. It was ski-lift time again! Again, proper dismount, thus not making an ass of myself nor did they have to stop the lift for me... whoohoo!

There was this moderately steep downhill right off, as we took a right to the next lift we had to take before we got to the food.. So PB was working with me on how to take it and keep it easy. However, on this day, NOTHING was easy. While I started to do it correctly, I made it probably 15-20 feet where I then promptly ate it. Then continued to eat it about every 2 feet the whole way down. I even got to find some ice! My tailbone still enjoys that discovery. I had no real strength in my left knee though, so after enough falls, I unbuckled (we hit a flat spot, no momentum = walking) and walked to the next lift. I was so tense while falling down the slope continuously that when I loosened up to walk, I was exhausted. My body hated me. While talking with PB on the walk, we had a ski safety lady ski by, who watched my little ... adventure .. and told me that if I was tired or having a real hard time to just ask ski patrol or the safety people and they'd get me a courtesy ride down the mountain so that I didn't kill myself.

That little piece of advice was in the back of my head the rest of the next ride up. Oh, and I didn't bite that dismount either! When we got to the food place, I was so exhausted that I didn't want to eat, despite needing food. So I picked something and just kind of ate pieces here and there, while PB devoured hers. At least one of us could eat something. While eating and unwinding there, I pretty much made the decision that I wasn't going to slide my ass down the mountain for a few reasons. One, my knee really was starting to hurt in ways that made me nervous. Two, it wasn't fair for PB. She can board, but while going with me, she's not going to leave me behind. So as I fall and get pissed every 3 feet, she'll end up waiting for me. Thus not a fun ride for her. I couldn't do that. Real relationships, good relationships are about compromise and give and take. We have always done that and I'm pretty sure we always will. So I swallowed my pride and asked for a ride down, so she could it it on her own and not have to stop for me the whole way. I owed her that much after all the patience she had with my inability to do anything on a snowboard but crash.

Ahhhh the sled ride down. They strap you into this sled, and the ski patrol takes you down. That was actually pretty fun. We hauled ass down the mountain (passing PB even with her head start but I got to wave LOL!) and once at the bottom I waited for her to come down. She was happy and excited about her run smiling and happy to tell me about how amazing it was. Seeing that in her face really told me that the decision I made, regardless of how big of an ego bruise it created, was the right decision. That excitement and smile told me all I needed to know about the day. Since it was about 4, they were slowly shutting down, but she was able to get on a lift and hit it again before they shut it down. She came down, the same excitement and smile on her face as the last one. Yep, I may suck at snowboarding, but seeing her happy after those runs definitely made the day perfect.

We got a chai tea to depart with, then remembered that they took pictures at the beginning of the day, so we went to check them out. They got 2 good action shots, one of her, one of me (obviously has to be shortly before biting it! ) and then two great pictures of us, together. So we got the package deal with 4 5x7's. They're some great pictures though.

Once home, PB forced me to sit on the couch, made me some ice bags, rolled them up onto my knee, then proceeded to get me water, cocoa, beer, food, whatever. A sweetheart, in so many ways.

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Today's my review too, this should be fun. I haven't had a work review in ages. Hell, in all my career I've only had one raise. Not by lack of performance, but because the companies I end up working for go bankrupt or get bought out & merge. Thus if the ownership is always changing, there is no annual review other than, "Keep working!".. So we'll see how this goes.

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A sad, yet happy story that tugs at anyone who's a hopeless romantic....

Read me...

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On that note, it's time to get some food!

2 comments:

~E said...

There's always the next time. And practice makes perfect.

Me? this is exactly the reason why I don't do many outdoor activities. Whereas you made it down the mountain a few times before giving up, I would have broken several bones the first time I crashed and that would be that.

~E said...

Until they make it so that falling on snow at 20mph doesn't hurt...then thanks, but no thanks.

Also...I awarded you an award. Because it shows I care! Go pick it up and congratulations for being awesome!