It's a party y'all...

The floor that separates our apt from our upstairs neighbors seemed solid when I was up there but I was way off. I still feel as if I'm apart of the party happening upstairs even though I'm not actually there...joy. 

Today was a day of reminiscing  and fun with Chris Wilson who has been in town visiting; the last time I saw Wilson was at Bonnaroo '07 where we hung out and partied in Manchester, TN for a couple days.

It's good to know that some things don't change...hanging with Chris has been like it's always been--fun. I'm glad that he came up to hang for a day or two before he goes off to St. Thomas for a month or so, he's good people.

today=good

Haircut

aw yeah...

Learning is Fun my ass...

The California Academy of Sciences closes at 5pm...wtf? All of our prep work in route finding and directions didn't include checking the hours of operation--it didn't cross our minds. I figured that a Thursday night would find an after work crowd peeking in the nooks and crannies...but alas the Museum closes at 5 everyday. boo. So we took ourselves across the street to the DeYoung Museum which was closing soon...so we made the best of it and took a stroll through their Sculpture Garden...very interesting:

From there we decided to walk to a different part of town...so we ventured out into San Fran's unknown...The Richmond, Laurel Heights, Pacific Heights and almost to Nob Hill. We've done a lot of walking the past two days and have seen a lot of this place--it's very nice. Really nice homes. But we were exhuasted and needed a break so we saw a movie. Only we didn't see the movie we thought we were going to see. We saw Zack and Miri make a Porno...but thought we were going to Nick and Nora's Infinite playlist (or whatever the name is). Ridiculous mistake that we didn't realize until the movie started. Good mistake though as the movie was funny.

All in all, another good day.

Tomorrow Mr. Wilson gets to town and things could get ugly. I'm looking forward to seeing this guy...it's been far too long.

Oh and the High Life I purchased this evening...I hope someone got a raise for coming up with the new look for their "Limited Edition Fall Series." Awesome.

Are you going to San Francisco?

Ladies and Gentlemen, the eagle has landed; my new roost is in San Francisco shackin' up with my lovely lady...Claire.

I've been here for a week now and have basically been a hermit. It's been nice catching up on sleep, loafing and being a lump--good stuff. Claire and I are currently waving the unemployment banner...so we have time to stare at things and walk around for hours at a time because we can't afford to do anything else. While I enjoy being a gentleman of liesure, daddy needs to start making some cheddah...this city is expensive.

It's been a while since I've lived in an urban center and it's definitely going to be an adjustment to the constant hustle and bustle again...but what I think is going to make life better is the proximity to non city-like things. Things like hiking, shredding (which I'm geeking out about right now), the ocean...NYC didn't really accommodate things like that and I don't count my dip in the Hudson "the ocean." ew.

Anywho, today we walked, we took an epic stroll to Golden Gate Park...San Francisco's Central Park...and had a lovely time. But before we left we fueled up on tacos and chips--cheap and delicicous...

The rest of the day was spent taking in this beautiful city and enjoying what sunshine there was.

Tomorrow we head to the Academy of Sciences. Learning is fun.

The Shred

As September comes to an end I notice the morning's require a sweatshirt and night air being a little crisper. The sunny days are tempered with a gentle breeze letting me know that colder weather is just around the corner. Don't get me wrong, I love sunny days spent outside, where footwear is optional and finding someplace to swim can make or break your day.

But really...I'm a cold weather guy. I like bundling up. I like shoveling snow. I like wearing slippers. I relish the nights when snowfall blankets the streets and muffles the sounds of the world going by. What's more, is that I love to snowboard. After living in a mountain town for 2 years and enjoying everything that it afforded me, to then come directly to Iowa...I'm only just beginning to realize how badly I need a fix. Tyson sent me a trailer of a new video coming out and it stoked the embers into a fire once again. The giant has been roused from his slumber and he demands satisfaction. He wants pow. He wants las montanas. He wants the unabashed joy of destroying an untouched line down a glade. He wants a 500 inch winter.

He wants to Shred.

Minnesooooohhhhhta

Ah to be away, if just for a few days has been fantastic. I left Iowa last Sunday with Claire. She's in the process of doing her own amazing things right now and still managed to spend some time volunteering in Iowa before driving us to the great state of Minnesota to hang out with her family. They rule by the way.

Since arriving we've done a lot of...nothing. hanging out. being with each other. laughing. cribbage. eating and sleeping. Her family has a cabin on a lake in Wisconsin so we went up there for two days with plans of boating and frolicking and general merriment only to have it be crap weather. boo. So we played a lot of crib and just hungout. We also played on her trampoline where I learned that she's a little gymnast completing a front and back flip. Impressive.

Now we're back in St. Paul for one more day before I head back to Iowa to finish out Project Cedar Rapids with Hands On . It has been so nice to be here with her, to see where she grew up, meet her friends and hear some of the stories that make her who she is.

It's been a good week. I'm sad it's ending but am happy that I've had the chance to spend the time with her that I have.

good stuff I tell ya.

good stuff.

My way is the highway -God

I'm not religious. I don't believe in a God. I believe that organized religion has done a lot to cloud the issue. I find it odd that people need to be told how and when to pray to whatever or whoever they believe in.

I'm also finding that a lot of my preconceived notions about religion, in particular the pious few who lead their flocks have been jaded by the media and the dogma it puts forth. This is not to say that I'm giving it all up to become a man of the cloth...I'm merely stating that since being in Iowa, a state devoted to religion, my views on said subject have changed.

What sparked this internal monologue (which has since spewed forth) is a pastor from a church in Bluffton, IN. They brought a group of about 20 people down to Cedar Rapids to volunteer for a week...people in the know call these "mission trips," and all I can think of when I hear that term is Elwood Blues saying "we're on a mission from god..." so it can't be that bad right? Anyway, the Pastors' name is Kent, a guy in his late forties I'm guessing; he is a man that had a unique outlook on life and had an infectious personality. We have similar senses of humor, so we got along well. The week they were here was a productive one and when they left I wished them a safe journey back and hoped that we'd see them again. Kent pulled me aside and handed me a check...this was on top of the week of hard work they had put in and said thank you, we'll see you again. I was amazed and knew that he would be back...

fast-forward to this morning...I open my email and see that indeed Pastor Kent, true to his word, is sending another crew with a check to cover some of the materials for re-building. Instead of amazement I am happily re-energized. Then at the end of his email he said that he prayed for me by name. I'm 27 years old. There aren't too many things that, upon them happening, I can recognize that it's my first time dealing with it --this is one of those instances.

I kinda lost my train of thought about halfway through...

Religion is a powerful tool that's used to acheive a lot of bad and also a lot of good...I guess it's nice to experience first-hand the good side of it after hearing so much of the bad.

Iowa Bound

Just as the title of the blog indicates, another change has occurred that is taking me from Aspen to the flood plains of Iowa. Fits and spurts, that's how change occurs in my life.

I'm going to be a stipended employee of 'Hands On disaster Response' for the duration of their deployment in Iowa. Pretty sweet huh? Finally, I get a shot at doing what I want and not only that, but I'm going to get paid to do it--aw yeah!

I fly from Denver to Cedar Rapids on Thursday to start this adventure and will be there throughout the month of July and from there? who knows, hopefully the trend will continue and I can carry on with the work and continue to get paid. Fingers crossed.

so yeah, big doings people. big doings indeed.

This is a photo of the sandbagging effort to keep the flooding out of Clarksville.

outrage

in the wake of something as catastrophic as a natural disaster, especially the cyclone that recently devastated Myanmar; the first logical step would be to let the people who specialize in helping after such events in to do their jobs.

Yet, day after day I read more reports of the junta denying aid that is essentially being laid out before them; the international community has stepped up by raising and allocating millions in aid dollars to help a country that at this point cannot help itself. Why is this isolationist regime more worried about getting votes on a referendum that would give them more power then helping those they rule? I understand that we don't have the best track record when it comes to foreign policy, and that for a time we supported the Monroe Doctrine, as we too opposed colonialism...but come on...what good is ardently supporting a policy if the end result is negligence on a massive scale?

why does this feel like a cover up? why did the gov't only estimate that 22,000 people were killed and now reports are saying that in all likelihood it's closer to 100,000+? Why is their gov't utilizing resources to chase out journalists instead of helping distribute aid and begin restoring their infrastructure? why are visas being blocked left and right and any aid that has been delivered being unused because of where it came from?

Disasters happen, and as our climate changes (causes TBD) they're going to be more and more frequent...no one is blaming the gov't for the cyclone--that's ridiculous, but the way they're handling or mishandling the efforts of the international aid community to help makes me outraged.

snowboarding

The thugged out ballerinas of ice and snow glide gracefully through their frozen playground like packs of wild dogs, feeding off each others' energy, going bigger, faster, pushing their limits, all the while howling with delight.

Baggy jerseys, oversized pants and bandannas ruffle as the frigid air rips across the mountain; all that is seen is the surgical focus in their eyes as rails are hit and landings stomped. Rare is the sight of anger or frustration, for free riding is just that...free--free from judgment and constraints of life off the mountain; life melts away as the growling wind rushes past their ears as they sail, weightless through the air in graceful arcs, spinning and tweaking their bodies. The combination of power and raw athleticism that produces something so fluid and smooth seems extraordinary, until you strap in yourself and immediately understand that it could be no other way.

and now for something completely different...

Early this morning I finally had "the talk" with Ken, my Peace Corps recruiter; I say finally because this man travels more then most salespeople do, and getting him on the phone was a tad more difficult then I had anticipated. So we talked.

Long story short, it doesn't look like Jeremey will be off to join the Peace Corps anytime soon and to be honest I'm a little relieved. I know that sounds weird but the further I got in "the process" the more I realized (and forgive the jargon about to be used) it was like jamming a round peg into a square hole...it ain't gonna work. What I'm looking to do and the types of programs and opportunities they offer didn't really synch...I mean, the computer literacy teacher position in E. Mungambo was tempting but somehow I wasn't drawn to it...weird. Or the vague "community service" positions in Asia and Europe didn't entice me either. I'm starting to think my heart wasn't in it at all...

Seriously though....wtf? I know that the types of positions offered are based on the needs of the individual countries, but it's Africa...you're telling me that a continent ravaged by decades of civil and political unrest, where genocide is an unfortunate fact of daily life and many go without for months at a time and they're telling me, that what they need most is an f'ing Computer Literacy teacher? Really? Now call me negative Nancy if you want but I'm pretty sure access to food and water on a consistent basis and not living in constant fear for their lives ranks a little higher then being taught how to network their computers (oh yeah, all those computers and laptops that are lying around that people are im'ing on as they're fleeing their homes--right). Call me bitter but I find it frustrating, as it completely destroys my tentative plan...which blows because for me to have a plan in the first place is pretty incredible.

so yeah...the Peace Corps, it didn't work out and now like a bitter ex-lover I spout my pain to the masses and grieve publicly...I haven't hit the ben & jerry's yet but it's day-to-day...then after that messy break-up conversation I went to Buttermilk and hit the park like a champion until I destroyed myself a couple times...

I'm going to bed.

Update

Greetings and Salutations,

I hope this update finds you in good spirits with plenty of whatever you need close at hand. It's been a minute since my last update and to buck my trend of creative writing entries, I thought I would go crazy and try a going a little expository on that ass....aw, word.

Anyway, it's now day 5 in my latest saga...yes that's right; for the past 5 days I have been without heat or hot water and it pretty much sucks as bad as it sounds. Winter is cold. A house without heat, situated on a mountain in the middle of winter in the rocky mountains is cold. To relieve the bone-chilling temperature that the house has plummeted to most would turn to the shower...the refuge of the perpetually cold....ah, but that's right--no hot water. boo.

so my hair is greasy, my dirty clothes are piling up and shaving without the use of hot water is ripping my face apart...yea!

It's surprised me how much this has affected my general demeanor...I've been dirty before; in fact, I've gone days without bathing under conditions far smellier then this and been regular ol'me...this though, has definitely put me off my game a bit and it's annoying because the woman who owns the house hasn't been staying here while this ordeal has been going on...come rent time I believe I have what is commonly referred to as a "trump card."

so yeah, I'm cold and dirty but on the lighter side of things, one of my favorite people is coming to town in a couple of days and then two weeks from now I'm going to see some friends from NYC who're going to be in Breck. Man, my life in NYC seems like another lifetime...now that is truly crazy.

YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Last night I was chillin at the bar after work enjoying a few moments of couch sitting in a posh environment...really quite nice and because I knew everyone working in the bar, I stayed after they shut the doors to continue partying...again, a nice perk.

About 10 mins after the doors were shut I see Lil' John at the door acting all crazy wanting to be let in so he could party. No dice. The bar manager and pretty much everyone in the bar nixed the idea and he had to go find someplace else to party. This happened two other times when some pro snowboarders and skiers (JJ Thomas and Peter Olenick) tried to get in.

I felt pretty pimp...but it would've been cool to have partied with them...I bet I'd be feeling a lot worse today if the night had gone that different direction.

Ah....the X-Games.

an unexpected surprise

Remember when you were younger, and would wake up extra early on Christmas morning just to rush downstairs and marvel at the pristine pile of gifts that awaited your greedy little hands? How still the morning was; how absolutely packed with possiblity all those objects seemed to be bursting with?

Well, that's how I feel everytime I glide away from a chairlift, one foot secured to a board that, in my mind has the ability to transform an innoxious mountain run into a playground.

Two days ago I received an unexpected gift from the snowboarding gods...it came in the form of a lip at the end of a catwalk that I sighted from the chair I was riding. Currently I am making attempts to dial in the elusive 360...the gateway trick to snowboarding radness. What this means is that I will throw myself off any and all jumps in an attempt to bring my "game" to the next level. I have been met with mixed results thus far but what happened on this magical day casts a large shadow over all previous attempts.

...I won't bore you with the details...I landed a 540. What that means is that I did one and a half rotations and stomped the landing. OMG! It was one of those moments when it takes a second to fully realize the extent of your awesomeness...and then once that moment wears off, the only thing to do is to look around and make sure someone saw it. I needed a witness to coorborate my foray into the unknown world of advanced snowboarding trick-o-logy; that and I wanted to brag to someone that I did a trick that was WAY beyond anything that any of us had tried.

In hignsight, I realize how much luck was involved in landing said 5...but it's added fuel to the fire and I will continue to throw myself from kickers and catwalks alike until I have mastered the body control needed to land 3's and 5's with my eyes closed.

The jury's still out as to whether or not this is a good thing.

New addition

With the delivery of my gear mere days away, I went out and completed the ensemble with these...if you can't tell by the camo, I'm pretty thugged out.

They're stiff as hell and make riding a lot different in a really good way; now I count down the seconds until I can put these puppies into some real bindings.

I am excited.

An Open Letter To Snow:

Hey Snow...

So I know that we haven't exactly talked in awhile and it's cool, but I feel compelled to express myself and let you know where my head's at...so here it goes:

I like you. I know you get that a lot, but it's true. I love the sound my footsteps make as you're falling around me; that napkin between the fingers sound is somehow reassuring. The blanket of quiet that follows you around and mutes the absurdities of life is something I appreciate. You've been the reason that I want to get up early and play....regardless of the previous nights' activities. Your pristine whiteness beckons me; your silent siren song calls me to the mountains, gently nudging me to go one more run.

I know you've been working overtime this winter and I want you to know that your efforts aren't going unnoticed. The perma-grin's plastered across faces as they coast to the lift are thanks enough...it's said in the shaking of snow from goggles and hats; from the throngs of out-of-breath people who when have enough breath can only muster a yell from the bottom of their souls. These are the ways that people thank you almighty snow. We thank you for the bounty you've bestowed upon us thus far and hope that this is only the beginning.

It's funny, but you have the power to affect an entire community of people. When you fall, spirits lift; the purpose you give, knowingly or not is something that makes the innocence of a powder day special every time...and there have been plenty of special days so far.

Basically I just want to say thanks. I know you have a lot of places that would love to have you as a guest, and I hope you realize how happy you've made me and the people of Aspen this winter.

You know my steez...

and if you don't then you best recognize.

Snowboarding. I love it. love it, love it, love it. and this being my second year shredding the sacred slopes of the Rocky Mountains, I sucked up and bought my own gear. sorta. I have new goggles, a new jacket, an ipod shuffle, and hopefully within two weeks I'll be receiving the crown jewel in this little equation...a 2007/2008 Burton Custom with Chrome Red Cartel Bindings--WOOT! I've been demo'ing it for the past couple days and it is incredible the amount of flex and pop this board has...way more then the caddy I've been pushing down the mountains for the past couple of weeks.

Needless to say that I am on my way to becoming a snowboarding superstar...if I ever find my battery charger for my camera, I hope to post some rad photos of hardcore shred-a-tude...oh it's gonna be good. real good.

Powder Dragons

Some believe this is the year of the rat others don't believe years are associated with anything animistic and if you fall into one of those two categories you would be misinformed; this is the year of the powder dragon.

POWDER DRAGONS!!!