Rules of Life

The original life rules were provided by Joe Crocker, HSBM canoe leader at Camp Kaleo:
1. Always be Thinking,
2. Books are our Friends,
3. Never send a little girl to do a big man's job, &
4. Never, ever play chicken with someone who has less to lose than you do.

An additional one was added by Rush circa 1995:
5. Fat women will love ya.

Added 2016: 
6. Always read the plaque.
7. There are no shortcuts.

evolution is a farce

So, I found myself having to balance counter-intuitively most of today. As a result, I landed on most of the major (and some minor) parts of my body.
One fall that I will carry with me for at least a week helped remind me of two central truths.
Here I am falling, aiming my accelerating body towards 'groomed' ice, with mr. glutimus maximus and its relative softness to cushion the fall. But do lefty and righty do their jobs as designed? Do they stay in the same spot they've been positioned in the previous 13 millions years? No. They scatter: lefty one way and righty the other, leaving mr. tailbone (who had been taking a nap up until this point, minding his own business) open for impact. He's pretty mad at them at the moment. They've got one job (cushion), but they proved cowards.
And they proved that God has a sense of humor: 'If you're going to slide down a mountain on a butter knife, you are on your own.'

when life hands you a lemon...

First and foremost, a bad day of skiing is better than...
That being said, the local ABQ skisandia resort was test-run by me today. It was 1:15 faster drive than skisantafe, and a bit cheaper. While the specs on the resort (lifts, runs, acreage, elevation change) matches others, it has no personality and is almost complete ice.
After two runs, I was pretty mad. Mostly b.c of I knew how nice the other options were.
SO, rather than burn in frustration at the pitiful conditions, I turned my skis in and signed up for snowboard lessons. And while I fell more in 3 hours than I have in the previous 15 years of skiing, I had a good time, really challenged myself, and learned a little bit.
The lessons came with a free tongue piercing, which I thought was a nice touch.

Mountains - 1, Sok - 1

I began the day driving up from Glorieta towards Taos for a ski day. At 8am, I called the skitaos office and asked how long the drive? '3 hours to the resort from Santa Fe'. This mis-information caused a chain of reactions that led me to skisantafe, 30 minutes away.
skitaos is without question THE ski resort of new mexico, but I want to ski, not drive.

skisantafe completely exceeded expectations. A shortage of blue triangle trails forced my hand on the black diamonds, mostly in the form of spiderweb interwovens amongst towering evergreens. I completely stretched and exhausted myself, which is an enlightening experience.

P.S. - Santa Fe Brewing Co. Nut Brown Ale is fantastic.
P.P.S. - Santa Fe itself is ridiculously overrated, confirming Maggie and my assessment from 2000.

good things begin with Ice

As an Engineer, who runs a company(s), with four (4) kids ar home, there is very little not already planned in my life.
This week will be different.
I have a journal containing a bunch of place names and addresses and phone numbers, but prior to today's lunch at the Frontier (all hale the huevos rancheros), it did not contain an itinerary.
So I am here at Glorieta, having eaten a wonderful meal with Iceman and Shannon and their tagalongs. Ice is generally accepted in the world of all things Kaleo to be that which the rest of us strive to emulate. It is a pleasure to see him (that sounded insincere, but it is not).
Before I set the alarm, I must decide what I am doing tomorrow. Oh, the pressure.

journey man

i have put together my thoughts for the week down in my journal, just to give me some ideas of what to do, if i find myself needing ideas of what to do.
now i just need to remember to bring my journal
i am attempting to leave the cluttering aspects of life behind: no ipod for the plane, no quick read fiction novels, no serious read life-books. working through how exactly to be still, a challenge not often afforded us within this world.
i seek peace, and harmony with God and my self and my life.
i seek vision and voice - both God's and my own.
i attempt to do such with reverence and patience. i may be forever changed next week, or i may just refresh a bit. i don't know exactly when i'll find out on that one.

home again

I was heading to Joshua Tree via Phoenix Airport, but the prices jumped while I slept on it.
And there she was, calling me gently, reminding me of the sweet smell of her perfume, her vistas, and the undercurrent addiction to her cooking. A seed planted, returning for a second reunion, venturing across the homeland.
I am going to New Mexico.

While I was not sure what I wanted to do while deciding, I am living in great joy knowing that I will be venturing there in eight short days.
The despair of not being able to stay...

where to go? where to go?

It would seem to the uninitiated that the emergence of Kayak.com, Expedia.com, Priceline.com, Cheapoair.com Travelocity.com (and our perennial voice of guidance, Clark Howard) would provide a tangible benefit to the recipient of such seemingly intensive competition. Such belief is only accepted by those untested in the fine art of internet competition shopping.

• Check here
• Check there
• Check under here
• Check around there
• Look at this site
• Switch the dates and try again
• Maybe if I wait a day and see
• But what if I don't purchase now

It is a miserable experience for the likes of me, and I regret my participation in such.

Maggie recounts my previous journeys and the utter waste of time spent working the system in my travels to Thailand and China, and our purchases of the Van and the TV. In every other aspect of my retail experience, I play a casual 'cannot be bothered over a few dollars" gentleman. But in the world of comparative internet purchasing, I am an addict, sitting over the slots hoping that the next pull will be the Big One.

What a hearty waste.

a Walkabout

It can readily be said that 2008 proved to be my most trying of 32 years. I would like to hope that I cleaved to Jesus in this time, and I believe there is evidence before me that I did. However, difficult things are difficult, even with God Almighty.
The times of tumults have weighed on me, one who is typically rather stalwart. And it has been recognized (and pointed out to me) that my lack of 'enjoyment' has finally effected my sense of 'joy'.
My discerning and charitable wife has encouraged a Walkabout, and I just might take her up on it. She will be taking the kids to her mother's in two weeks, and has warned me of the wrath that will follow my typical reaction to her absence, an overloading of work.
"Go somewhere. Get some time alone. Breathe a bit. And come home with either some answers or some joy or, preferably, both."
Options are weighing themselves before me:

• Outward Bound or NOLS course.. none offered the right dates, rather expensive, and I'll be forced to talk to others.
• Seattle and the surrounding areas, bumming a couch of my best friend Weeder... but the traditional excitement of seeing him and his wife and upcoming child (I won't probably see the child) is replaced by apprehension at being with others. I am feeling the need for loneliness.
• Westward... over the Mississippi I am called.
• Joshua Tree, Southern California, climbing and hiking and camping in the desert in the likes of Christopher McCandless.
• Skiing somewhere? I would like to try my hand at Cross Country.
• THE Grand Canyon is always suggested, but only by those who don't realize how incredibly cold it is there this time of year, without the benefit of campfires or snow-based activities.
• Honduras
• Equator
• Costa Rica (Maggie's pick of the three, as it feels less dangerous to her)

I have little time to decide, and must as well decide whether to pursue this dream or let it lie.