The Girl Next Door

my 3 week summer

2009-08-24T19:27:00.001-07:00

being in medicine has been a whirlwind. part of which meant going through school this summer. on monday i wrote my last exam for my 1st year. Sept. 8th it starts all over again, so tomorrow i'm going on vacation with my mom.

it's been so long since i've hung out with mom just mother and daughter time. I remember she used to come get me from public school to take me out for lunch and once when I was younger we went on our own weekend getaway together. this will be nice to get away, this time while we're both adults and for a whole week.

consequently i'll be away when Lisa moves to Queens this weekend and I won't see her till thanksgiving. her birthday being Sept. 12th, I gave her a birthday gift and sang her happy birthday last night, 19!, wow, i remember everything about when i was 19 and i don't feel any older yet....

we're flying into Sydney, Nova Scotia and renting a car to tour around the island, driving over to P.E.I (i'm really happy to be visiting p.e.i) and possibly checking out Halifax if we have time.

we're also doing it on the cheap: airmiles will provide our transportation (being an avid collector has its perks), a tent and park entrance fees our means for accommodation (other than a one night treat at a highly recommended B&B called Castlerock Inn) and we brought our entertainment (books and a camera, just enough). I'm just hoping for scenic views, somewhere to set up my portable camping chair and a few great hikes. i'm bringing my bathing suit, bike helmet and some spare cash for other opportunities should they present themselves.

my U.K. trip might have fallen through (next summer guys!) but I hear Nova Scotia closely resembles the Scottish highlands. see you in a week Toronto.

the most beautiful book

2009-07-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

i just treated myself to the most beautiful book, thank you amazon.ca!

(warning: amazon.ca textbook shopping can be overly tempting to get free shipping by spending more money to reach their $39 quotient).

its called "Simple Sewing" and it just hones in a lot of the skills i've been teaching myself, only, giving names to things I didn't know what to call and terminology that makes the task seem way less overwhelming.

I think making something yourself is the best feeling in the world. it takes a lot to figure out just how to make it look the way you want (thank you samples) and sometimes i have no idea how they do things, like the double lined seam that lines the crotch in my jeans (cue book) but it feels amazing when the product is finished and now hopefully with some more at home instruction, they'll look better too (when they're inside out).

its nice to get a book that you want to read and at the same time urges you to put it down and get going. i think they call that inspiration. another great part is that countless projects can be made and all be slightly different based on the fabric and textile chosen. i have a thing for textures. good and bad. they add so much to any space and make every object unique. but certain textures do make me a squeemish (sp?). like some blends of 100% polyester = yeeck. i won't fold them in the laundry or touch them if they're on the roof of my car.

that being said, i look forward to escaping biochemsitry and message therapy studies to make things i feel good about and when I do, I'll happily post them.

to do:

2009-05-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

i like lists, they are my way of procrastinating into the future:

1. get rid of the parasite that makes simple tasks and being active really uncomfortable

2. put something between my big toe and toes on my right foot to help it heal into the correct position (read: i hurt my toe really bad).

3. study and write 4 exams this week after being given 3 days notice

4. catch up on 10 days of missed class and try to get the school to allow me to make up the missed quizes and study for the quizes happening this week.

5. find my battery charger so i can download the pictures from my camera so I can better share my Haiti experience with friends and family

6. make a cake and a salad for a party this weekend

7. take my bike in to add some parts so i can ride it to school comfortably and make more efficient use of my time.

8. take 4 epsom salt baths before thursday for a class assignment. while this may seem wonderful, baths take up a lot of time. time i don't think I have. we'll see.

smile

2009-04-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

i am quite possibly one of the happiest people in the world today. its such a great feeling.

in just over one hour i will write my last exam. i can't even tell you how long these past two weeks have felt, let alone the whole month of april; it seems to have gone by in slow motion.

the sun is shining. the library window i'm sitting next to is level to the courtyard and some other student has just pulled up on his motorcycle and parked it right next to me, i know he's a student because i just saw him studying with other people as i went to get a coffee in the cafe. students are outside, practicing manip. on each other. i'm sitting here, music in tow, taking in my material - slowly. maybe its just nice because there is little or no pressure. but it's probably a combination of things:there's a certain buzz in the school. i think just being a beautiful spring day makes everything that much better, even studying. plus a lot of people are preparing to take off tomorrow as exams finish today. ecuador, mexico, cuba, san diego, winnipeg, new brunswick, maine and good ol' B.C.. we all have one week off and let me tell you, it will be spent wisely. i'm already beginning to enjoy it.

people keep asking me if i made the right choice in coming here. i can only say its is worth every penny to be learning what i'm learning and i don't think there is any other way for me. sure its a huge challenge, but isn't that what makes us smarter? or something like that. in someone else's more eloquent words "what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us". RWE.

and "we either make ourselves miserable or make ourselves strong. the amount of work is the same." carlos castaneda.

everythoughtaThoughtofYou

2009-04-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

i have a confession to make.

i just realized how much I like mewithoutYou. i was listening to BrotherSister and i couldn't remember why its been 3 years since i've picked it up.

but here is my confession: i've known of them for a long time, since summer '04. except then, i heard one song, it was screaming, and i wrote them off (although, always have admired them for their album art). I did the same thing for other artists: John mayer (couldn't stand "run through the halls of my highschool), U2, Bob Dylan, and others i'm sure i've heard one song that I didn't like and just wrote them off.

silly me.

i'm thinking about buying "it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright", May 19th.

go ahead, give them a listen if you're like me and you wrote them off, or you don't know who they are. if i knew how to post a song, i would play "In a Sweater Poorly Knit."

ACCEPTED!!!!

2009-03-27T10:40:00.001-07:00

yes!!!! i'm SOOOOOOO happy. the manuscript for the research i helped with on pluripotency of embryonic mesoderm stem cells just got accepted to be published in Cell Stem Cell!!

a) that journal is front of the line, so its an honour

b) it's taken 3 years of work for the project, and so much patience. I'M SO GLAD.

ah.. i can rest a little easier now. its done. finally.

feels fantastic.

the crunchiest time of the year

2009-03-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

the next 4 weeks of my life are intensely busy, the 3 after that are also filled with excitement

1. i have finals in a few weeks and yet, they feel like they could be tomorrow, all 5 on one day. sometimes trying to get everything done is super stressful... i just have to remind myself i can do it. its not impossible.

2. i'm running a 1/2 marathon may 10th which i have to rev up my training for. i'm committed whether or not i have a cause (my cause was haiti). its actually fun to train for something. i've never thought running 10k would be easy until i've had to do it so frequently.

3. i'm trying to fit in working at the lab still, 2 days a week. keeping my spinal cord project running. this is my last 'hur-ah' there. i'm beginning to train someone so that they can take over. it will be a bitter-sweet goodbye. the lab has been great, and so so good to me.

4. i leave for haiti in may which will be the end of my stress but it seems so far away. it'll be exciting if i can visit lindsay in new york before i go down to the island. i'm really looking forward to it!

instead of looking so far ahead at the next 7 weeks, tonight i can just finish my bot.med. assignment and pack for ottawa. i leave tomorrow for an integrated medical conference at the Uof Ottawa's med school. and I get to see Matt!! and nicole who will also be in Ottawa at the same time, its a sweet small world.

I found something new, and it feels wonderful

2009-02-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

So for the longest time when ever I heard a song that moved me, was captivating, serene or told a good story, I would always put a figure skating routine to it in my head. The product of growing up in the sport competitively, both in solo performance and Synchro, for 10 years.

SO YEAH, in particular I would say not such a useful thing to know how to do, but I couldn't help aquainting my creativity and vision to the only skill I knew that could express it, even just sort of. Its been a bit frustrating, 1) because figure skating is SO not practical (I mean, I just don't own my own ice rink) and 2) I'm not fit to skate anymore. Just think of my agony that every time I had a vision or a creative idea I had to resort to this imaginary display on ice and it would never be physically manifested. That dilemma still brewing but aside, got me searching for what other creative medium would best suit me. I dabbled in a lot of things in high school, but nothing that I was particularly passionate about. It never helped that I studied the sciences for the last 7 years because, although there is creativity in science, I didn't relate to it that way.

I experienced a mini-life crisis when I was 22-24, in that I felt I lost a part of my identity and was extremely confused; until I realized that I hadn't lost a part of my identity, I simply hadn't developed it yet. I think it hinged in a large way on a physical manifestation of what goes on in my head. Talking it out is fine, but making something, physically putting something out there that, in my best attempt but falling quite short, is a reflection of my ideas, would help me feel more fulfilled and as though I was taking progressive steps on my path of potential. I struggled for a while, I keep thinking it should be on canvas. And so for many christmases and birthdays, I've recieved canvases and paints and all the trimmings and yet, they are still blank, mostly out of fear.

In the summer I happened across my mom's sewing machine. I think I broke a strap on my tank top that I really liked and just wanted to fix it quickly. The machine is older than me, a gift at my parent's wedding. I don't know why it took me 24 years to take it up, but I finally did. And in doing so, I found something much more than an economic way of maintaining my wardrobe. I began at editing my current clothes, or clothes I'd buy thrift, that didn't really fit right, and make them into something I liked. This is all okay, but its a process of editing. Do I think editing is creative? I'm still out there on that idea, but would have to lean with no. I mean, nothing is new under the sun, but editing still wasn't allowing me to connect the passion in my head with something real.

I'm happy to say that yesterday, February 12th, I had an anomaly in my health psychology and counseling class. I was sitting down and 'listening' to my prof. while I began to visualize descriptive terms in the format of a old-school home video. There was a setting and a whole lot to it, no specific song playing but music was there. The emotion and descriptive terms of music that accompanied my visual perception of whatever I was thinking or feeling. and then it hit- I began to see clothes. I'm not saying this to presume I will be a fashion designer, but in that moment I connected music to what I was (somewhat) skilled in making.

Have you ever heard without music there wouldn't be fashion? I never understood it. But I definitely do now.

It was an exciting time. I wanted to go home and draw but I had to go to a group therapy session on the art of communicating. Still, a very good day. I am excited and happy to think of my thoughts in this way now. I'll still edit I'm sure but I'm going to explore this new tangent!

happy new year! and here comes 2009

2008-12-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

i have to say i'm so PUMPED for 2009 (and i know its been ages since i blogged, not really sure if it'll keep up with me or i with it). i'm so freakin excited, that in fact, the fun has already begun. i suppose since dec19th, which was my half-birthady and my last day of work!! woohoo!! man it felt so good to quit. stem cells = important but I am overjoyed to be leaving. although, i suppose i'm leaving slowly. part-time for the next few months, but i'm still STOKED for this change. in fact, i've just sat at home, alone for the last 4 hours which, despite all the down time of the holidays, is the first alone time i've had in a while. i suppose contemplative, reflective alone-time, which has been kinda nice. I appreciated the sleeping in schedule i've created over the last 2 weeks but I can see myself getting back on my feet and really putting a lot into each day for 2009. i'm excited, did i mention that yet? change is good. a really really good thing. happy 2009 year everyone. i hope it is swell for you.

bean soup

2007-04-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

fishing for a screw in the pot of bean soup my mom was making. i think its hilarious. the screw to the pot lid handle came loose and fell into the pot when my mom lifted the lid (and consequently the handle) off the pot.
it won't be so funny if someone a) bites down on a screw or b) swallows it.
i once heard a story about a guy who had a toothpick puncture his colon = painful
so i'm fishing for a screw in a pot of bean soup.
yay

it will be exciting

2007-03-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

to move out and have steady supply of orange juice. none of this i buy a box and the next day its gone- drunk by the 5 other people in my family. i happen to like a glass, one glass, in the morning. it doesn't work to make a trip to dominion in my pajama's every time i want some.
there's a lot more that i'll be stoked for when i move out, but right now - its orange juice.

perfect

2007-03-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

i just poured milk for my cereal and i knew it felt light but i used up all the milk in the bag and it was the perfect amount for my cereal! that never happens, usually when its that light there's not enough and halfway through i have to go get another bag. i was kinda happy. i still have to go get another bag BUT not yet... hehehe.

i also got perfect on my placement evaluation working for Dr. Carson. as most of my grade comes from my performance in my placement setting i had to sit down with him so he could 'evaluate' me. i sat. he said, "while i don't believe anyone's perfect, there's nothing i would improve". and gave me 100%.

you're all still in bed...

2007-03-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

nothing like an early start to your day. its 6:20am and i'm already at school. its still dark out. very dark out... i hope i don't fall asleep.

he caught everyone off guard cause he has so many look alikes...

2007-03-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

this is a tribute to ben:

biggest suprise - i was walking towards the church on my way to resonate, talking on the phone to nicole. as i walked up to the double doors i saw ben and was like, oh that looks like ben, i was going to pass him off as Jake but then my eyes widened and i'm pretty sure i let some flies in as i was like to nicole, "is that ben back in Canada!?!" meanwhile ben had seen me and ran out to greet me. he had to open the door cuase i was locked out but he came and gave me the biggest hug.
so good to see him.

you thot that was romantic chuck? just the look on his face reminded me of how he greeted me back in August when he found me in the hospital. i remember Dave had just left to go fix the bike or something and i had just figured out how to lie down on that hospital bed. as i was lying there i held my chin against my chest to try and look over my toes as ben came running in. just the look on his face. he saw me and started to cry (okay, close to tears) and as he held my hand i just started to well up. no i cried. good moments. man that guy know's how to bring out the emotions.
thankfully last night was all smiles. laughs. and memory-recapping.

ben's still ben. although he's matured. and he'll kill me for writing about him. he proudly showed me that his shoes matched his purple shirt. that he acutally got to meet his sky-train girlfriend. that he's pratically thai, and can stomach all kinds of food now. and that when we were cleaning up in church after resonate, that after 8 months, nothing has changed much as he still knew where everything was supposed to go.

good to see you man.

a year ago today....

2007-02-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

I was out on the Gold Coast with my aussi mates Kelly, Ben and Johnny learning how to surf.

I'm listening to Jack just to torture myself....
no its good. its really good.

Winter Wonderland

2007-02-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

okay - i went winter camping. i wrote my blog too soon after the fact. it wasn't an enjoyable experience but there are worse things in life so i don't want to complain.
let me just summarize: we played a name game when we first got to the camp we were heading off from with our guides that we were getting to know. you had to say your name and then something you love and if other people love that too they'd switch spots with you. i said my name is kaylee and i LOVE the sun.

WINTER CAMPING has its peaks and definite valleys.

Get Your Spoons Out

2007-01-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

okay here's something i don't get: Nutella
i mean, WHO puts chocolate on bread? and if you're not going to put it on bread, what do you do with a jar full of chocolate?
it belongs inside those little chocolates you get at christmas: ferrero rocher

blessed

2007-01-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

okay so i just wanted to say that
today i was at my aunt rose's for a family lunch thing. and at the end of the day we were watching pictures of my aunt and uncle's recent trip to Guatamala. i just loved it. i was so appreciative or over-joyed? or just blessed by the blessing God gave my uncle with an incredible talent to take pictures.
honestly, you guys are all like family so next time you are at my uncle's place please ask to see his Guatamala pictures. they are gorgeous. i just sat there loving his work of art. it felt rich. the moment did. it was good. so good.
it was cozy, you know, like he always takes one photo of him in the shot, but in a weird way like through a reflection. and i love it. looking at those pictures where i'm just like, that's my uncle, doing his thing. so good.
okay,that's all.

today i...

2007-01-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

starting from the end of the day to the beginning:

stood instide a bus-shelter, at night, waiting for my bus ride home listening to this little but probably 16 year old girl blab away on the phone, half in chinese and half in english telling the person on the other end who has recently adde her to facebook and why she is rejecting them or not adding them.

sat in my 3 hour organic chemsitry class... i wanted to sleep the whole time. terrible. tried to stay awake. its not an interactive class and its not with my program so i don't know anyone. well not true, i do know my old salsa partner but when we were in salsa class my friends kind of ruined me ever talking to him again based on their blatent comments about his looks and wanting to hook up with me (cause he was a good dancer) i just leave him alone. there's two other people i recognize, probably from my lab, one who even came up to chat, but after the "how's your day" there's not much there.

had dinner with kelly. i didn't realize baldwin st. was so close to my lab. we'll probably make a habit of it now, now that we're on our way out (meaning we're done this year). we met up at kon-echee-wa (i probably spelt that wrong) and had sushi. we talked about how awesome winter camping will be and how much we'll miss being downtown once we graduate. we also decided we like swimming and are planning to get to the pool more often.

realized i should probably get people from school in on this blog, they'll know some of what i'm talking about.

bumped into two old friends again. it was awesome. 1) i was standing in the AC talking with some friends and this guy comes along and bumps into me. i turned but smiled to see that it was Mike, i almost forgot his name cuase i only ever called him greenhat. he was in a rush but i yelled out after him, "where's your hat, greenhat?" he honestly wore it everyday for 4 years. he mumbled something about it dying and his soul breaking. he looked good. groomed. his hair was actually taken care of as opposed to hat head and he had on a long black coat with i'm sure a white collared shirt and tie on. i wonder if that happens to everyone when they graduate.
2) i was walking back to the AC from varsity arena and my friend Lowell and i met walking opposite directions. i had time so i turned and walked with him to catch up a bit. he was a nice distraction from my thoughts of how cold it was outside.

had swimming class in the morning. favourite part of the day - except for taking the 90 degree shower just before jumping into the 80 degree pool. its cold. but we did some relays with pool noodles and big floating tubes and lifejackets. also had to learn how to flip-turn and practiced diving. its always fun. last class was a riot tho - we played team games, you know, get the other teams standing-upright flutter boards down with a ball, or marco-polo, ha, we even had to put together a synchro routine from which i thought i was going to drown cause i was laughing so hard and trying to stay up above water. fun stuff.

finished reading a book for class. the five people you meet in heaven. the 1st fiction book ever assigned to me of all my 4 years at uni. it was nice. it brought back a lost part of me. a kid who always used to read. a brain who always got lost, away from reality, thinking of everything around me as a story. it happened again as i read the book. got off the street car, passed tony at the front desk - asked him was time it was and realized i was late. a part of me came back. just a part. and only for a moment- until i had to jump into the pool.

things I already knew

2007-01-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

my brilliant self likes to repeat things that i have already learnt from:

i dont' know why but i had to re-affirm that i hate wearing socks to bed. last night i was so cold but like 10 min into sleeping i had to wake myself up to take them off. my feet need to be free.

i also can't seem to help over-microwaving things. i put something in that i know doesn't need the full minute of micro-waves but i figure i'll come back and save in it like 15-20 seconds. of course i always forget and whatever i put in always gets fried. this really backfiredwhen i put carmel sauce in a bottle in the microwave with a lid on. it totally only needed like 10 seconds but i pressed 1 min. i dunno - its faster? right. i blew the lid, lost the sauce and had a sticky, but sweet mess to clean.

studying in my bed DOES NOT WORK. even when i'm sick and trying to get something done. i don't know why i try. here's to an exam tomorrow.

warms my heart

2007-01-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

okay so last night at SNG was brilliant:

I was doing an object lesson at kids church, I was using a rope and wanted a person at one end to be “God” and the person at the other end to be a kid, who’d represent all of us. the idea being the kid “prays” to God and is just really pulling on the rope, trying to get God to come to them, to get God to do what they want. Praying for what they want. God doesn’t move cause the person is bigger. The idea being you have to seek what God wants when you pray.
Okay so I was like, Becca Viapiana come up, and be “like God” on this end. And then I picked this kid to come up, I was like, “okay, so becca is going to be on that end “like God” and you’ll be on this end, what’s your name?” and he was like, “Messiah”.
I laughed. Oh, and if I didn’t have a microphone in my mouth I would have kept laughing and hard. It was just the moment and they way it happened but it was great.
So then I was like, “okay so becca will be over there “like God” and Messiah will be over here “like everyone else”. Try saying that out loud.
Priceless.

going home on the bus with the kids from SNG is hilarious. it definitely brings me back cause they fully pull out old school cheers or chants or songs if you will that i used to sing as a kid (you know, miss mary mack, strawberry shortcake, down down baby) but then they have their own, which are pretty scary. honest, they're like ganster raps for kids, they've taken rap songs and i dunno, used them like our old school songs. complete with the hand actions. its awesome to watch, they're all so tough. but if i were 6 i swear i'd be scared. the cutest was when i was sitting with two 4-yr-olds who were doing the hand game thing and they were trying to teach me. so precious. I love it cause its when i can have more one-on-one time with them as opposed to being up at the front all night and I loved just sitting there watching them. of course Becca and i had a go at remembering all those hand things. all i know is becca's knuckles hurt my hands and í'd go on the bus with the kids anyday.

random

2007-01-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

you know you're real sick when you're too sick to blog. i think kathy's real sick. i on the other hand will suck it up. even though i can't breathe and my muscles ache. Not a good sign.

aside from coming down with the oh-so-common cold, yesterday and today were crazy for "bumping" into people.

i literally bumped into Dave as he was walking with his dad downtown yesterday. I was so startled, I think i wore it on my face the whole walk down St. George.

At night I bumped into a "friend", really i just walked by this bus stop and a girl inside called out to me, "Becca..Oh...", i looked up and was about to say, "amanda!.." when i realized that she just called me becca and not only am i not becca, she's not amanda. it sparked a nice convo though, Amanda turned out to be Anna from Brazil. She lives so freakin close, Sheppard and Vic Park and we got to talk all the way home. She told me all about Brazil, what its like to live there, how to take care cause its only a bit more dangerous than Toronto. We included some other strangers in our conversation as the few people around us chimed in about travelling as well, it was though our conversation was contagious, people just kept adding to it. It was cool. Topics for discussion: Korea, Brazil, the Amazon, Thailand, China and how beautiful people are over in Asia.
Today I was walking up Spadina from Harbourd and I caught a glimpse of what soon would be an old friend running across the street to jump in front of me with a big hello. I was blown away, great to see him. So crazy. I thought he was gone for good, coincidentally to Brazil.

Then on the way from Robarts past Hart House I ran into another old friend, from 1st year. Just brilliant. Good faces, people and memories. Random but good. I think I smiled all afternoon.

Aside: tonight I was pointed toward Proverbs 2: 1-10. It completely summarizes what I've been feeling on my heart, since about mid Nov. I lost sight of some of it but I revisited it lately over the break and it felt really good to read all the concepts that God had been putting in my heart in his word.

kathy i'd love help with my blog. i don't like mine even with all the funky colours Beka. i feel like i'm going to go fall asleep now and go far far away in my mind. i hope i wake up with sinus-clarity.

Summer Chick

2007-01-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

i'd like to thank the Canadian government for the 10 years of French that I took.

I preempted my Tremblant trip by watching Amelie (for the first time) at a sleepover at Kathys. Not sure if you can call it a sleepover when i left at 2 am to fall asleep in my bed at home for a few hours before waking up at 5:45 to go fall asleep in the car on the way to Quebec. Regardless, the last thing i remembered was reading subtitles to the French flick (even the ones in French when the characters spoke English) and then waking up in Montreal where again everyone was speaking French.

I've been to Quebec at least 4 times now, but I was shocked at how French it actually is. We had lunch at this restaurant where even after i answered the waitress in English she continued to talk to me in French. I just nodded. Je ne parle pas Francais - molto bene (yes what's worse is that the little French i can muster i always mix with Italian).

Family vacation in Tremblant was brilliant. We stayed at this massive chalet at the base of the mountain, just a ways from the winter disney-land village, with an awesome view of the runs we hit daily. My favourite feeling was the first day out, standing at the base of the mountain and FINALLY realizing winter. I was like, this is what it feels like to be Canadian: the cold bite of wind every now and again as you stand in the snow, the smell of snow, wiping your nose again and again with your glove at the bottom of a run until your snot freees as you wait in line for a lift; loving the feeling of wind in your face as you race down the mountain, stopping every now and again to just take in the view; even just having to wear long-johns under my jeans at night as we walked around, actually feeling cold and loving it (in a brief way, as it was reminiscent of something i should be feeling normally back in Toronto) and of course coming into the chalet to warm up after a days worth of boarding. I absolutely loved just standing under a hot shower for what seemed like ever, just warming up. It was actually winter, I just had to drive 7 hours to feel it.

I remmber standing in line for the gondola on day 1 and looking around at everyone in their Burton or likewise gear ready to ride and only being able to relate it to my most recent experience with a branded boarding activity - surfing: yes as i stood in snow watching burton, ride and oakley all around me all i could think about was the beach with people all clad in roxy, rip curl and rusty bikini's or shorts, boards in hand, ready to surf. it really is a paralell world just hot and cold. The benefit of snowboarding is you can have music blaring as you ride.

Except for when its so cold your ipod doesn't work.

one serious highlight was a run that we found, unfortunately, on the last day of riding. it was so awesome though that it definitely overtook the 3 days prior of snowboarding.
i have never been to a hill bigger than Blue so maybe this was all just really really thrilling for me. but i liked it. day one i definitely hit a green trail as i hadn't been boarding in 2 years i think.... i know i didn't get to go last year and i can't recall the year before. i also had to help teach Lisa how to snowboard so the first day was very stop and go. but i dídn't mind so much. i never really hit a black diamond run, maybe 3 times, the same run, steepest way ever to the bottom, only on the last day, my very last run, they had groomed it with moguls. painful. i broke the ski-snowboarder relationship that day.

while the activities and accomodations were brilliant i found something even better while i was gone : clarity.
plus my family is freakin hilarious. Stephen is really really funny. Quiet normally but smart funny with good timing. We were out one night, and he was rallying up some guy he had gotten into a discussion with and the guy goes: "don't you have any R-E-S-P-E-C-T." (yes he actually spelt it out) and Stephen goes, "why yes i have heard of Arethra Franklin."
other things. he's a great guy.

Lisa too - oh man. Stephen and vincent usually go off. i spent a lot of time with lisa this trip which i love cause i feel like i get to be a kid again. she's me, 6 years younger, and way funnier. but i get it all.
we'd make a joke of high school musical anytime my mom asked us what we were going to do at night, we'd say: go to a club and sing a song. or something to that effect, especially if my mom wanted to know what stephen and vincent were out doing.
one night lisa really wanted to watch high school musical - we brought a limited selection of dvd's. everyone objected. she was like "why?!!?. okay, i know why. the first time i saw it i hated it too. its so corny. but then you just like it." jokes. i did end up promising her we'd watch it on the car ride home.

oh family vacations. great times.
next time though, you are all more than welcome to come. seriously, our chalet could have definitely put up way more people. and the more the merrier, right?