I feel kind of like when I told my aunt I’d run a 5K: good about the exercise and cause, but bad about waking up early and running a 5K. I somehow got conned into a half marathon, kinda, we’ll see how that plays out. I also am going to be riding at Windham on Sunday for a group I volunteered for, so I’m sure I’ll be sore for that.

I’ve never done any of these benefit events, so I’m looking forward to it and the fact that I’m trying something new. Breast cancer really hasn’t affected my family too much. My mom’s mom had it, and beat it, twice before age 60, so I think I’ve got a decent chance in a battle with cancer.

It’s not just genes though. These events raise money and awareness. I absolutely hate going to the doctor and wasting precious time I could be snowboarding…or sleeping. Or when I have to wait 45 minutes for something that takes 2 minutes. What I have to try and remember is that one of those visits may be the one that saves me. Early detection is best.

Those yearly exams, I try not to skip them, but emergency room visits are over-rated. Most cuts and gashes can be solved with crazy glue and some band-aids, gauze or even duct tape. Most everything else requires OTC pain relievers and Jack.

You can view my personal page for the event here. If you would like to donate it is greatly appreciated and if you are near Mountain Creek why not join a team?

Lucky for me Hunter also had a Swap and Sell going on downstairs as well as some great sales in their gear stores. I was looking around, not really seeing much and hanging out with friends until I spotted a box. It was a box for Rome Madisons, from last season. I moved swiftly, beer in hand to discover it was empty. Lucky for me I could still read at that point and quickly spotted the bindings mounted on a Rome Lo-Fi hanging from the ceiling. I dragged and employee to the window and said I want them. He then tried to sell me the whole combo, but I already bought one board and the park board is not in my budget yet (and it probably wouldn’t be the Lo-Fi either). I did however get the bindings and a free hat for $105, so I thought I did alright. I’m very new to this negotiating thing.

I kinda got a look from my friends when they found me at the counter buying stuff already. The “we’ve been in the store 5 minutes and you’re already dropping money on snowboard gear you crazy b*tch” look. It wasn’t a completely impulsive buy as those who have been here before know I’ve wanted them for a while. The impulsive thing would have been to buy the Lo-Fi too.

Aside from that, the rest of the day went pretty well considering when I got there friends of friends stuttered their name and almost fell over when being introduced (which is always a good sign). We left Hunter around 5:30p to head on a quick beer run and back to a friends’ cabin and their friends’ cabin. There was all around good times had with beer, food and a night in the hot tub.

The only mishap from the whole weekend is the camera situation. Now I intended on bringing my nice Nikon DSLR, but I of course forgot to head home to grab it. Said other people brought some hand held point and shoots but either forgot the memory cards or the memory card adapters. So they were at least better off than me. My two friends specifically rushed to buy a new camera (after the previous one was stolen) for this weekend and forgot to take the memory card out of the package. All in all, I think we had about 10-15 pictures between us. Maybe I can get my hands on some.

The next things for me in the coming months are to knockout a few of these freelance projects I have going and get my life in order. Everything kind of hit at once and I had to drop personal stuff for business. Once I get things out the door and business organized again, I have to devote time to my personal web site, valuredesign.com, and this blog. I have been slowly trying to change the design over, but that hit a brick wall. I have a design waiting, so when I get things on track, it will appear (the final version should appear, lol).

Summer is going great. I’ve been hanging out with some friends at the lake when it’s break time, which isn’t as often as I’d like, but oh well. Summer is always super busy as I take on less freelance work so I can snowboard more. The excess of work in the summer pays for my winter obsession

AASI should be releasing their schedule of events and clinics for the upcoming season, so I’m excited to see what they offer and choose what I’m taking. I want to take my Level 2 Prep course right away and see where I’m at riding wise, and if money permits I want to take the Level 2 Exam and another clinic, just because they are fun. If a vacation is possible, I might drop the extra clinic.

I finally got back on a bike (mountain bike) after like 8 years or so. The reason for that is because my brother liked to take things apart when we were younger and not put them back together or be able to fix them, and not much has changed actually. I like it and it’s good exercise. I have a new bike rack in the mail, so I will take pictures and post them. It’s eye-catching; that’s all I’m saying.

And speaking of bikes, I went on a Harley! I love it. If time and money were of no matter I would learn to ride and buy a street bike though.

More to come…promise.

Bad Company and The Doobie Bros at Bethel Woods

Some of you are still snowboarding out West and I am totally jealous. As of late, life has been a little hectic and I really haven’t put anything up and as VancityAllie pointed out, we mostly complain instead of trying to better our lives. I’m trying to get away from that.

There are some interesting things to do here in the summer: boating, tubing and wakeboarding on the lake, the farmer’s markets, hiking, climbing, mountain biking and concerts. What better way to de-stress than at an outdoor concert? I am less than an hour from Bethel Woods, the original home of Woodstock.

The Pavillion Stage at Bethel Woods

They put on some great concerts in the past like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Journey (both were amazing), this year being no exception. I attended Bad Company and The Doobie Brothers! I headed up with one of my bros and two of our friends to enjoy the views and the music. Bethel Woods is beautiful.

When going to Bethel Woods for a concert, we usually try to head up early to get good parking and hang out for a bit. Parking opens two hours before the concert and the gates open one hour before. Getting there when parking opens gives us time to chill, have a few and eat before heading inside. Everyone tailgates up there and you are bound to find a game of beer pong going on. Overall, one of my favorite ways to spend a nice summer night. I have yet to visit the museum, but I will one day.

If you’re ever around this part of NYS this is an awesome place to visit and enjoy some great outdoor music. You can get the Event List here.

09' Subaru Impreza Outback Sport

I recently got a new toy. The perfect car for next winter, and many to come, an 09′ Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. I’m super excited that I won’t have to stay home on a snow day (from snowboarding, not work) and that I don’t have to throw money at car repairs for a long time. My old car was a Dodge Intrepid, rode comfortably, but horrible in the snow and too big for me. I had constant problems with it, so this new one was in the works for a while. I actually saw the redesigned 08′ in a 2007 AASI magazine and decided I wanted it then. So, yeah, a long time coming. It came standard with the crossbars, heated seats, upgraded sound system and audio controls on the steering wheel. I have the all-weather mats (a necessity) and the i-pod interface which all came with a little extra discount since I’m an AASI member. I love it so far on dry and wet roads and can’t wait to test it in the snow!

My main point here is that I want to turn this into more of a photo blog. It is going to be mostly on snowboarding I hope, but I (like most people), have other interests. Look for a revamp in the upcoming weeks and some actual content now that I’m live again!

I find this absurd. The state, and the country for that matter, talk excessively about people’s health and obesity, and now, they want to tax those who do stay active and healthy. I am canceling my gym membership come Daylight Savings Time because I can workout outside, after work, and save money. I only really need it during the winter and even then, I might be able to swing working out at home with all the snowboarding I do. They shouldn’t make it harder to enjoy and afford a healthy, active lifestyle.

I don’t actually know if any other states already impose a ‘recreation tax,’ but if anyone else knows, enlighten me. Also, if you feel the same way me and many other NY skiers and riders do, help us out.

Here are some facts about the Ski Tax

I think it was more of a shock to us because we had just hired these 2 people in mid-November and it seemed like the company was in a pretty good position. My boss called us all into her office after this all went down to talk, explain the reasons why and answer any questions. It was a way to cut the excess out of our company to keep operating costs inline with our revenue. The company saw this decline well before any recession hit because we cater to the housing market. Our president apparently told the higher ups a few years ago of the surplus of homes on the market, the decrease in money being put into people’s homes and pretty much forcasted what the economy is going through now. Since they saw this coming, they prepared and restructured for it and we are pretty stable and a good business partner. Needless to say, we hope this is the beginning and end of the layoffs for a long time. My boss says a year hopefully and that’s about when they expect the economy to start to recover.

So now that Monday totally ruined my week, it also may have ruined my winter. I wanted to so bad to get out to Park City, UT or Colorado and with this news I feel like it’s best to stick to the east coast, take weekend trips and save for next year. The plus on that, I can take a longer trip next year if I do it right and I won’t have to take an AASI clinic since it’s required every two years. The only ray of hope I have if my tax return pulls through, is that Park City is offering $115 Rider Weekends. This includes hotel style lodging and your lift tickets, but you’re on your own for airfare, which isn’t too bad right now. My main reason for sticking to the east coast is fear for not having a job later on and spending all my money now. I’m sure there are a lot of others in this position too.

So worst case scenario: I lose my job and find a gig full time at a mountain so I can snowboard. That’s kinda of like a life goal, actually, with some freelance work on the side. High aspirations, huh?