Is it that time already

Holy Shit! I got an email for my 10 year highschool reunion this summer. Yikes. I almost gagged from the prospect of getting old and the prospect of what a reunion might entail. The email started..."Can you believe you are STILL cool after all these years? So much for cool, who can judge that anymore...although I'm sure there are a few peeps (no names) who still think they can." Wow, what a way to make me want to go hang out with them. I suppose it could be fun, they do provide a drunk bus and babysitters. I wouldn't mind gloating that I have no kids and have actually made it out of the state. Many of my class did make it out of the state, but while visiting the bars in RC it is terribly obvious that some of the people from highschool have spent the last ten years in the same city going to the same bars. Moving sucks, but thank goodness I'm still willing to do it.

I'm Bitter

Actually annoyed is an understatement. Right now I would like to rent a plane and write "Fuck You NPS" in the sky. I am incredibly sick and tired of the federal government's bass-ackward way of hiring people. If the hiring system facilitated the most qualified candidates getting jobs I would be okay with it. But I'm reasonably sure that I am more qualified (from an educational standpoint) than many of the people working at the NPS. But I've heard time and time again that I don't rank in the "highly qualified" category because I have no experience being an Interpretive Ranger specifically. My question is then: "how the fuck do you get a job in the first place? At some point a person with no experience has to be hired." Granted, I was aware of this method of hiring when I decided to put my applications in but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I do have several parks yet to hear from that I should have fairly good chances with, but my recent experience has not made me very confident. On top of that, it is nearly impossible to talk to anyone who does the hiring. In some instances candidates are simply not allowed to talk to the hiring official. In other cases it is just impossible to catch the person in their offices. Of course they don't return calls. Well I guess that's enough bitching for now....wait....shit, damn, donkey balls....okay now I feel better.

It only took 20 years

I used to watch Star Trek the Next Generation a lot. The android character, Data, at one point acquires emotions, including a sense of humor. He gets this weird look on his face, and starts laughing hysterically for no apparent reason. When asked why he was laughing, he says that he just got a joke that was told to him several years before. Though I am not an android (some might simply call me a "machine" ha ha ha), I recently just understood a one liner that my dad would use when I was just a kid - probably about 20 years ago. Whenever someone, usually me, did something stupid, my dad would say "Smooth move, exlax." From childhood until three weeks ago, I just assumed that exlax was just a funny, slightly derogatory name to call someone. I never thought it had any connection to the phrase "smooth move" even though I knew what exlax was meant to do. So, I was simply minding my own business cleaning my room a few weeks back and the phrase "smooth move, exlax" popped into my head. I immediately made the connection between the two parts of the one liner. I burst into laughter. It was sheer delight to make that connection, just 20 years too late.

Recap

Mine and Brian's interpretation of a Cabella's ad.





The last week and half has been a whirlwind. On Wednesday I drove to Moscow, ID to visit the bro. We spent a few days eating good food, snowboarding, putting my truck through the paces in the snow, and packing for the big backcountry trip. The trip went great. The snow conditions weren't ideal, sticky one day, ice the next, but the scenery and company more than made up for it. Even with the snow conditions I had the most exhilirating run of my life. The group boot packed up to a ridge above a big bowl that started with a couple big couliers. The whole scene was above tree-line. The wind was blowing at the top of the ridge and no one was sure if the snow was going to be nice and soft or a sheet of ice. If it was icy there was serious potential to slide hundreds of feet down the slope if you wrecked. I have ridden steeper slopes before, but being in the backcountry, hours from any road put the consequences of any mistake at the forefront of my mind. With some giant butterflies in my stomach I dropped in to the run and then instinct took over. I sailed down the slope, making some huge turns in about two inches of new snow that provided just enough edge grab and softness to provide a smooth ride. This run was a dream come true. I've always wanted to make huge sweeping turns down a slope with no trees or rocks or other skiers to obstruct me. I was giddy when I got to the bottom. The group did one more run down this slope and these two runs made the whole trip worth it. Other fun moments included...
I. Themed drink nights
A. Mexican night - Margarits made with snow, Crystal Light lemonade mix, and tequila
B. Island night - (choose any exotic sounding island where drinks with little umbrellas would be served) - Mango rum in orange Tang.
C. Eastern European - Vodka with a choice of Crystal Light or Tang.
II. Games of 31 in the late 1800s mining cabin
III. Dogs chasing skiers down the slope
IV. A couple bottles of Terminal Gravity in Joseph, OR after getting off the mountain
V. Incredible scenery
VI. Isn't this outline format fun?

E's recent blog post about sharing pictures, including those of feet inspired the posting of this picture of my spindly, ghostly white feet.

Vacation

The stress of a four day work week finally caught up with me, so I'm taking a vacation. I drove yesterday from Bend to Moscow, ID to visit Brian. I am spending a few days here before we both go to the Wallowa mountains in northeast OR to do some backcountry snowboarding. I'm really excited to get out in the mountains, but the weather has gotten really warm so I'm worried about the snow conditions. Ideally, the temperature would stay about 20 in order to keep the snow light and dry. Plus at that temperature you don't get wet from melting snow.

I've been attacking a cold that I got on Monday in hopes of kicking it before Sunday when we hike into the yurt. So far, it's going well, thanks in part to the supposed wonder drug Zicam. It has lived up to its claim to shorten and lessen the effects of the common cold though it leaves you a little spacey. With that, I'm off to drink some more orange juice.