Ski Season Ends

I spent the last two days skiing at Mt. Bachelor in central Oregon. It was incredible. I was granted two days off work after requesting time off for "Spiritual Renewal." One of the perks of having a born-again Christian as your boss. Total bummer but I have to spend time in the office today and tomorrow to work. Now, I am just a volunteer, but I do actually have work. So much that I can't work (sort of like college except I am not binge drinking) so I choose to online journal instead of working. Classic.

It has been an unreal ski season. 31 days. I've skied VT, CA, and OR. All three states have experienced record snow fall this year. Definitely best thing about climate change. After a 10 year hiatus that included college in southern New England and traveling abroad I am back. This year I think I've come into my own as a tele skier and must admit I am nervous about attending grad school with the closest skiing 80 miles away.

I used to think that skiing was sort of a lame, rich person way to "get into the out of doors." I think this continues to be true but it is so good and peaceful that I rarely think about that any more except when I talk to people who don't ski.

My favorite parts of skiing:

1. It scares the shit out of me. It is one of the few times during my days that I get a huge rush. Standing on the top of a steep, long run and knowing that if I fall I could be done toast. And then just pointing my tips and letting go. And being absolutely in the moment. And yelping because that is the only thing to do. And getting to the end and seeing the wall of snow and sweet line. And knowing that I made it without killing myself. I mean wtf.
2. Being outside. Embracing winter. Unreal landscapes. The quiet peacefulness that only snow and low temperatures can bring.
3. It is a social sport. This year I skied alone a bunch. Sometimes I made new friends sometimes I just smiled and took it all in by myself. And other times I skied with folks I know and love.

The past two day I spent at Mt. Bachelor with an old man (68) I met here at Warner Canyon. Old Man lives in town and is a real treat. He is a child and loves to play. We get along quite well and he invited me up for a few days of skiing with his buddies.

He has this group of people he skies with 4 days a week at Bachelor. They are all 70+. Old Man is the youngest. There is a revolving group of about 15 and they've been skiing for between 45 and 65 years. They have seen it all. And it all change over time. From rope tows to 6 person high speed lifts, real seal skins to synthetics, wool to synthetic to wool, straight long skis to fat shaped... and it goes on and on and on. And they are all out there killing it. Pure inspiration.

Over the past two years I have thought a bunch about skiing when I am 70 because it is free at a bunch of resorts... no way. I want to ski when I am 70 because it will keep me alive and well. Some of these 70+ers were smoking me. Not kidding. I mean fast and beautiful.

So right now as I am beginning to to stop my roaming, I am searching for a group of folks to ski with until we are dead. If any readers know anyone who skis (they can live anywhere really) please send them to me. I need to get this going like ASAP.

RL

I was chatting with Cara Romanik during the beginning of September in Seattle and we talking about how and why Vermont just wasn't working for me. (This is much easier to write after a move to OR.) And I was going on and on about how it should work- good friends, beautiful landscape, good job (at least this past summer), close to family, connections with family... Care then said, "Erin the problem is that you are uninspired." That really hit me as truth. Not only truth but also very sad and terrible. No inspiration? What is worse then that. Not much. My life in Vermont really seemed like THIS IS IT except without a husband, kid, volvo, or golden retriever. And it was so damn lame. I can picture myself in VT in about 10 years until then I think that I have some more adventures.

Anyway, fastforward to my acceptance to RARE and move to Oregon. My supervisor/boss is this woman named RL. I had a phone interview with her while I was still in Mainer. And was struck by three things: 1. The first things she said other then hello was that she was very informal, 2. Her bottom line was helping people and demanded to know my bottom line (I don't really have one, yet), and 3. The amount that she laughed. I didn't even know her and the entire conversation was filled with laughter.

Here are some of RL's characteristics:
-she is from LA and moved to Lake County to be with a man she knew for three days and procceded to become the HR head at the biggest ranch in the county (about 150 cowboys under her)
-she listens from the heart, does projects of the heart
-she has a GED
-her make-up is tatooed on her face, a few weeks ago she had it "reapplied" in Vegas, she also told me right after that she looked like Alvira and that there was an Alvira look a like competition happening and she was thinking of entering
-she was a teenage mom
-she is pro-life

Me: Well, I think that birth is the crucial point.
RL: No, conception.
Me: So you think an egg is a chicken.
RL: A vegetarian thinks that an egg is protein.
Me: Vegetarians also think that tofu is protein.
RL: Tofu is gross.

-she does not believe in global warming
-her cell phone's ring tone is hallajullah (not the Jeff Buckley/Lenord Cohen song)

This woman is amazing to work for. She is honest, hardworking, and an absolute doer. She has a task and completes it. She laughs all the time. I am so happy to be working with her and spending a lot of time with her over the next year.