The Most Perfect Snowflake

I must be a bit boring lately. Thank god no one reads this. I haven't started racing and the mountain is pretty rocky and icy, so not much to report.

I was out walking my best friend, and the most perfect snowflakes are falling right now.

Check it out:

Nevermind my dog's hair there. Eew, now that I look at it, it looks kind of gross, more like a microscopic image of some rare African parasite, with worms swimming around it.

Hmm, how about this instead:

This is my jacket, looks like the folds of an elephant butt though, or a really fat person.

I guess all snowflakes are almost perfect. These are pretty cool, minus my poor camera skills. Usually the snow in Tahoe is pretty mushy, and we don't get perfectly formed flakes, or it's too warm and it melts before you can take them in.

This guy must've thought I was crazy as I sat there taking pictures of my arm.

Is this what isolated, lonely, single people do with their time: take their animals on walks and shoot pictures of snowflakes, and dead bugs caught in the spider webs of their windowsills?

Crap.

I have to stay busier. Another week until the season opener?

The Greatest Dog in the World

Moved, drove, moved again. Tahoe's great, blah blah blah.

I had to suddenly head to the restaurant I now work at and put in a quick four hours tonight. There was nothing I could do with my dog since I had to head 15 miles the opposite direction after work. So I swaddled him upin my Clifbar sweatshirt and other random warm things I could find in the car and left him in the hope that I wouldn't come back to a frozen best friend.

This is what I found.

Is he real? Daaammmnnn he's cute.
He's the greatest.

This is not how I left him either. He managed to cocoon deeper into the heavenly folds of the sweatshirt and was blissfully toasty under there. It was difficult to leave this site.

Meanwhile I'm back at the house and my brother and dad are looking for change or a missing remote or something, lifting up each section of the couch - this could go on for days. They remind me of a Far Side comic . . .

San Francisco - brings to mind Sly and The Family Stone:

I want to Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin.


Yeah. Thanks for letting me be freakish, loud, uncontained, expressive. Coool. Dig and be dug. And loved. Good people here.

I haven't been really sad or nostalgic to leave SF again, except for today, my last day at Mission Cliffs Gym. I'll miss watching the sinewy-zero-fat-chalked-up-hippie-nerds swing from the ropes of the climbing walls in the gym while I pump the hard weights in the tiny tiny weight room to the side. I'll miss ripping farts on Flo as he does his sets on the machines, harrassing Arthur, the spinning guy over his choice in music over and over, getting in trouble with my roommate in yoga class (for godsakes), and basically watching my leg go from strong to really strong. I spent so much time there this past year. Today, by myself, I thought, "Cool, finally ready."

It seemed to take forever.

I'll b heading over the bridge tomorrow for Tahoe. Seeya homeless camped on my doorstep every day and land of too many DJs. Stayed just so long and long enough.

Done With the Desk Job

At work right now . . . shhh, just checking weather updates, watched Jeep King of the Mountain recap online http://www.jeepsports.com/, facebooked, a little porn. I told one customer who I dislike that I'd give her a call back tomorrow, but since today's my last day, Ha Ha, I win in the end. Lick it Terry from Kingsway Sales.

Lovely send off and a great crew here at L.N. Curtis and Sons. I'll do my best to send updates of my races, but only if I am a top finisher. Otherwise I'll just pretend I didn't know anyone and continue onto Hawaii, where "Phase 2: The Surf Report" of my life begins.

A final recap of my life here at a desk:

Owner of the company: "Well Jen, this is it huh?"

Me: "Well, for you."

He smiled, but I don't think he liked my comment.

Am I supposed to have an exit interview? They're probably sick of me anyway. Who cares what I really have to say anymore? Stoopid snowboarder.

I'm off!

Burning Man Video 2007 - as a last thought

Just because I'm cleaning up my work computer here before I quit, I figured I'd put in my Burning Man video from our Space Cowboys Camp 2007. Great times.

Lots of snowboarding videos to come this winter. Hold tight . . .

I Think I'm Funny at Work

I just xeroxed my face and made photocopies to place strategically throughout the catalog of my coworker here, so that when he's searching for items while speaking with Captains and Chiefs and whatnot from fire departments, he'll lose his concentration and start laughing.

Yeah, I think I'm funny.

Really going out with a bang here from L.N. Curtis. Well, not really, but I still think I'm funny. I hope I get a chance to put them in there, that guy gets to work early and leaves late; and I get to late work and leave early.

Two 1/2 Days Left of Work, 104 Days of Snowboarding to Go

Alrighty, last time I posted was August, at the Summer X Games. Have I really been that busy?

My legs will attest to that actually, and my core. I'm strong as hell, and sick of working out, jumping with weights, riding a damn stationary bike. Time to ride the mountain.

I'm in the office, the same one I've been in for over a year now while rehabbing my knee, and my brain for that matter, staring at the same computer screen. What a strange existance. Two more days, or rather, 22 more hours total left here. Just enough time to erase all my criminal emails and raunchy pictures from the hard drive. It's raining outside, meaning it's snowing somewhere I belong, meaning, yes, I'm finally ready to go.

I'd meant to write about all the training, but with 9 hours of work everyday and two hours of excersize, 1 hour to walk my dog and step through the door, that left me about 20 minutes a day to shower, and 7 minutes to eat. I just didn't have time. Plus I had to party here and there, but mostly everywhere. It was either continue to blog, or shower. My friends apprecitate the latter.

Who cares about my training regimen anyway? If you want to know how I got my thighs so thick, just ask me. Nothing to it.

Someone just called on my line, wants a price for a ladder and a super skull saver.
Some of my favorite names of firefighting tools: the Hooligan tool, Dual Deadman Valve, Shake and Bake (forestry shelter), Blitzfire Monitor, Jumbo Ball (valve), the Quic-Mount (tool holder), Discharge and Reaction, and my favorite, Dragonhide shell material. I didn't touch on Jaws of Life or SCBA equipment, but I could go on and on. This job has been funny, and I'll miss it in a subtle and unemotional way.

My favorite interaction from my outside sales partner,
"Ziemba, where the hell is the Chief's brush coat? He ordered it 5 months ago."
"Jimmy, I've got no record of this order, he didn't place it."
"Okay Ziemba, this is what I need you to do: Go into the ladies room, go into the stall, pull down your pants, and pull it outta your ass."

Funny enough, I was listening very intently, and did end up pulling it outta my ass.