Meg Skis

Meg in Malibu

2010-08-13T17:07:00.004-06:00

MegSkis may have to become MegSurfs, as I have moved to Malibu to pursue an MBA at Pepperdine. My new blog, Meg in Malibu, is here. Unlike MegSkis, this will not be an aimless, wandering blog, but an exercise in boiling down my daily education to one short post. Basically, it will be the single most relevant, applicable, digestible thing I learn each day in school so that readers (assuming I have any) can get the highlights of my six-figure education for free. True that I'll be the only one getting the diploma, but no one else will be out thousands of dollars, and the concepts I share can be applied right away, not when school's out. Surf's up!

Facebook/Twitter

2009-06-18T17:48:00.003-06:00

I don’t know why I made it a goal to keep up on my blog. I can’t even come up with enough interesting information to support Twitter every couple of days. And my last Tweet about eating peanut butter elicited the most excitement of anything I’ve posted in a while. So, writing an eventful, captivating blog entry is more than I am equipped to do.

That said, I’m posting links to Facebook and Twitter (the two social media networking sites to which I’ve reconciled myself) here (see right side of page).

Cheers!

April Fools!

2009-04-01T16:54:00.010-06:00

I’m blogging – April Fools! No really, I am blogging, but it feels like an Aprils= Fools joke because I haven’t posted anything in so long. One of my goals this winter was to keep up on my blogs. That, and work on Happy Hour Boulder, pursue outside writing projects, do more yoga, compile photo albums, retake my GMAT, etc., etc. So, it’s disheartening to realize that it’s already April (winter is technically over), and I don’t have much to show for my big “to do list.”

On the other hand, I was traveling for work much more than I had anticipated – trips that took me to Squaw Valley (see blog entry), Park City and Lake Placid, so I can’t really complain. And I jumped on board a planning committee to do marketing and PR for an event called Boulder Chefs Up Front, which benefits Operation Frontline and ending childhood hunger. There were a few other mini-vacations thrown in there as well (Moab, Santa Barbara, Santa Fe(see pic above)), in addition to some ski weekends (Vail and Keystone), so all was not lost.

For spring, I have started swimming again and have taken up hula hoping – both very worth pursuits if I do say so myself.:)

Hello, again!

2008-10-25T20:03:00.002-06:00

Yikes! Three months since my last blog entry. One of my goals this fall was (is) to keep up on my blogs. My copywriting blog has sort of taken a backseat since I am no longer independently employed, but I would like to be better about Megskis. And actually, there is a lot to report since I last wrote in July . . . Luke returned from Japan, we moved back to Boulder, AND I started my new job. But, I’m not going to catch up on all that now, because it’s too far behind. So current stuff instead . . .

The last few weeks have been really busy work-wise. It’s almost ski season (well, not really, but because I work with the industry, the season starts for me in a few days). The PSIA-AASI National Teams just arrived for a week of training, which means the office has been in freakout mode. So far, so good, though. We just wrapped up a weekend training session in Lakewood, and the teams just left for Copper Mountain. I will chill in Boulder tomorrow (one day of weekend is better than none!), and then head up to Copper on Monday for what will probably be three days of schlepping on skis, by foot, or in the car. I’m totally looking forward to it, however, as I like to be crazy busy.

(World Series interruption – Rays vs. Phillies, game three. I can hardly believe that this time last year I was in Japan during the World Series, watching the Rockies in the corner of Luke’s TV screen! Visit www.cooltiques.blogspot.com)

It should be a lot of fun. And I am really psyched to get back to skiing, as my season was cut short in the spring by my shoulder dislocation accident. Speaking of which, I have just been able to start climbing again, and it looks like Luke and I will head for Moab next weekend after I wrap up in Copper and Vail (have to go to Vail for a meeting right after team training!). We plan to climb and bike, which will make for a nice trip before the winter comes.

I can hardly believe that it’s the end of October. It seems like we were just on the Western Slope viewing the colors (see picture above), but I realize now that it’s been a month since we went over that way to hang out in Carbondale, Marble and Glenwood with Matt and Anne! Wow, before we know it, it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas. And probably another three months until I blog again. Time is flying!

New Job! PSIA/AASI

2008-07-26T11:17:00.002-06:00

Now that I’ve updated my website and built up my clientele, I’ve gone and gotten a new job. Really, it’s an opportunity I could not pass up. So, as of the beginning of August I will be the marketing coordinator at the Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors! I am super excited to pursue what I consider to be a dream job. This will, however, necessitate a move back to the Front Range. So, I am Boulder bound!

Website Update

2008-06-23T13:17:00.000-06:00

My website is updated and fabulous! I finally wrote new copy and put together my portfolio. Check out www.mmmccarthy.com to explore a day in my life, flip through my Workbook, browse the Menu and learn more about why it’s super important to hire a professional copywriter – like me!

Totally Worked

2008-06-22T12:06:00.002-06:00

I don’t think I would feel any worse right now had I been hit by a 16-wheeler in the middle of I-70 last night, than doing what I actually did, which was to run a 10k trail race – the Summer Solstice Twilight Trail Run. Yes, it was only 10k. Yes, I’ve run much further. But, in my defense, it started at an elevation of about 8,500 feet and climbed to probably about 10,000 feet, complete with grueling steeps and fast downhills. That combined with the fact that I just started running again about a month ago, and have yet to go more than 30 minutes or so, is why I am so exhausted.

I actually felt really good during the run, especially when I got my second wind after mile two, but I knew I would pay for my lack of training in recovery. And, I was right. It sucked the life out of me. I am a little bit sore, but mostly, I’m just wiped out, which is how I’ve found time on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to blog. I’m certainly not planning on heading out to enjoy the day – I don’t even think I could stroll through the farmer’s market right now. That said, I plan on racing the next La Sportiva Vail Mountain Trail Running Series race on July 6, which starts in Vail Village and ends at Eagle’s Nest. It’s 7.5 miles and over 2,000 feet of gain – phew! It’s going to be tough.

In between now and then I have a bike race - the Davos Dash - and just a few days after the Vail Hill Climb, I have another bike race. I had no idea I was going to be such the racer this summer! But, now I’m hooked, so my goal is to complete all the races in each series. Not that I’ll rack up enough points to be super competitive, but it’s still fun.

Icky Outdoor Apparel

2008-06-19T14:40:00.002-06:00

I bought some new bike shorts and a wicking top yesterday. I really needed some new outdoor apparel and I’d been putting off buying it for so long because it’s all so hideous. Just a moment ago, I was checking the deal at www.steepandcheap.com, and I was totally horrified to find a women’s performance top that looked like it had been cut for . . . actually, I don’t even know who would wear it. That’s not entirely true, there are plenty of people out there who don’t care about these kinds of things, and are probably better off for it. But, as for me, and not that I represent the height of fashion, it’s totally insulting to have to stoop to such an unfashionable level just because I like to play outside. I mean, and this will sound snobby, but am I expected to prance around in a pair of Hudson jeans and James Perse top only to have to shed my complete identity to get what I need to compete in a bike race? Apparently, this is the case. Not that what I bought yesterday, was horribly unfortunate looking, but it hardly compares to my normal style.

So, the question is, with so many companies that exclusively manufacture women’s outdoor apparel, how come nothing cute has come on the market? These so-called women-specific sport clothing companies can’t seem to come up with anything better than what the men had in mind. There are a few exceptions, but they’re few and far between and if the fit is wrong, it’s not like there are tons of other options.

Ah, the high-class problems you can come up with while sunning on your deck. But, really, I think we women deserve something better – not just acceptable outdoor apparel, but something a true fashionista could appreciate. Riding in the mud, running on trails and trekking into the backcountry are no excuse to look like a dirtbag.

Oh, and just to update, I checked back with Steep & Cheap only to find this grotesque tank sold out. To whom, I wonder. It was cut all wrong with some horribly modified boat neck, unflattering trim and in bad colors. Props to Steep and Cheap for the deals, and it’s not like they designed it, but still – ewww.

Second-Class Applicant

2008-05-10T13:20:00.002-06:00

I am in a state of gloomy self-pity. Unable to work for the last six weeks, thanks to being brace-bound following my shoulder dislocation, and having just returned from two weeks vacation, I feel useless and on the verge of an existential crisis. The phrase, “what am I doing?” reverberates throughout my mind about every 20 or 30 seconds and wakes me up a dozen times in a night. I know that as soon as I get my ass in gear and start making a contribution beyond what has lately consisted of lazing on a beach followed by cocktail hour, I will feel much better, but right now, I am in a tizzy, totally agitated by what feels like limbo. For more of what prompted this foray into purgatory, read below about why I feel like a second-class b-school applicant . . .

Unfortunately, because I applied to business school in the last “on a space available basis” round, I face mounting rejections. Boo! I can’t say that I am surprised, because I knew going into this that I would probably not get in due to procrastination (really, beyond my control), but I can’t say that I’m not disappointed. I desperately want to begin my graduate education, and a year delay feels agonizing right now. And frankly, I feel a little slighted over the whole thing, as do most rejects, I am sure. But, here’re my reasons. Soapbox, please.

I believe that I am disadvantaged as an applicant because I only spent about $1,000 applying to business school. That’s two $250 GMATs, three applications at $100-$150 a pop, and maybe about $100 on study books. I did not spend over $1,000 on an expensive prep course, nor did I pay an admissions consulting firm upwards of $5,000 to create my resume, write my essays or interview my recommenders. I also wasn’t able to visit all my schools, but rather had to virtually explore my options. See, I am a freelance writer with two start-up companies. Between my meager investment and the sweat equity that I put into this effort, there wasn’t really anything left. And, I simply can’t justify going thousands of dollars into debt for this. Is that bad? Does that make me a less worthy applicant than the person who was willing to make such a sacrifice, or the suit who socked enough away in the years spent climbing the corporate ladder since college? I don’t think so. I believe that my enterprising spirit rivals all of that, but I’m afraid that business school adcoms may not see it the same way. And, I could be totally wrong. But, in months of researching the process, reading forums and talking to other applicants, it seems that in some respects, you really have to buy your way in. And thus, I am relegated to the second-class applicant pool. And, I probably sound kind of foolish. Really, if the playing field was level, there wouldn’t be any reason to get an MBA in the first place.

Crash

2008-04-09T20:47:00.000-06:00

This post will have to be short because I dislocated my shoulder and can’t be out of my brace long enough to really catch up on my blog (can’t type with the brace on). Thankfully, my GMAT was over and my grad school applications more or less complete before I blew out my shoulder. But, it was really just a day or two later, riding high on the completion of so much work, that I went skiing and crashed super hard at the bottom of the headwall on Northstar. Sucks. So, now my ski season is over, and I’m pretty much useless. Can’t really work, definitely can’t ski, so here I am blogging for five minutes, but mostly becoming addicted to The Hills, trying to finish my tax return and cancel all my Japan/Thailand trip plans. But, what can you do? It could always be worse, right?

Busy girl . . .

2008-01-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! Belated, I suppose. My commitment to blogging is lagging recently. But I think I have some good excuses. Let’s see . . . since my last post I have divided my waking hours between work, skiing, skiing work, GMAT study, GMAT exam, holidays and a vacation. I even managed to squeeze in a manicure or two, but even then, I was multitasking, catching up on all the celebrity gossip I could glean from the salon’s selection of girly mags and tabloids in between coats of polish.

Brief respite on the beaches of sunny Santa Barbara.

That said, the next few months will probably prove to be equally as busy. My GMAT score was less than perfect (to say the least), so I plan on studying for a retake, working still and hopefully skiing a little (though a back injury has me sidelined for the moment – the perfect opportunity to catch up on life). I’ve also signed up for a belly dancing class once a week to keep stress down and I don’t plan on being quite as overloaded as I was in November and December. In fact, I’m going to be submitting posts for a new blog called CU Grad Gab, featuring a female graduates of the University of Colorado, all sharing their different perspectives on various topics, based on location, career, etc. It will be a good writing exercise for me. My blog posts will focus on life in the mountains and ski culture. I am trying to think of a name. So far, I have come up with Chair 10, Chairlift Chatter (but, I think this is stupid), Chairlift Confessionals (also, not so great) and a few other corny options. I think I like Chair 10, because that is the number of the Highline chair in Vail that was recently replaced by a high-speed quad. The old chair was the thinking chair. It was slow and wonderful – plenty of time to rest your legs and ponder the intricacies of the always scintillating Vail existence.

I’d also like to work on my children’s stories, read more, watch less TV and plan our trip to Thailand. Yes, Luke and I have decided that our spring destination will be Thailand. As soon as ski season ends and mud season settles in, I hope to be exploring the balmy tropics of SE Asia. It is going to be hot! Very hot – April is actually their hottest month. But, I can’t wait! We are going to relax on the beach, explore Thai temples, play with elephants and gorge ourselves on Pad Thai and mangos with sticky rice.

The next few months are going to be action packed, that’s for sure. Grad school applications, skiing, vacations, work, etc. I must confess that I’ve been fantasizing about blowing off my business obligations for a few months and getting a job waiting tables at night or something. I probably won’t do it, but it would be nice to decompress for a little while, make some quick cash, and devote my spare time to skiing and study. Might be a nice break before grad school. But, I have to remind myself that I work alone for a reason. Of course, it might make good fodder for a blog . . .

Goodbye Rowdy . . .

2007-11-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

I’m feeling a little bit sad today. Well, maybe not sad. There’s not really any reason to be sad – this is, after all, just bittersweet, I suppose. But, I can’t help but feel sort of down about the fact that the University of Colorado is getting a new Ralphie. And actually, I do have a right to be broken up about it, because I spent three of my four years at CU as a Ralphie Runner. Ralphie IV, or Rowdy, as we called her, was the only buffalo I ever worked with. She was pretty young when I joined the team, but that was more than seven years ago, and as captive bison don’t have a very long life expectancy, she is at the end of her career.

In the past, the team always scrambled to find a new mascot after the current animal passed on. I suppose they wanted to be prepared this time, which is smart, but it’s sad to me that Rowdy’s days on Folsom Field have come to an end. She was kind of my baby. We were, after all, the only girls on the team for a while and we had a special bond. That bond was cemented when she tossed me like hay on pitchfork during one of my first practices, leaving my right leg black and blue from the knee up. From that day on we understood each other a lot better.

I would spend hours upon hours sitting in her pen, doing my homework, while she sniffed around me and grunted, as if to say, “I know you now, and I like you. We’re friends.”

For a long time, I was the only one she trusted to harness her before her runs. The boys didn’t get her and she didn’t get them. They weren’t gentle and sweet and certainly never kissed her slobbery nose like I did. And if they saw me coddle, I would always get scolded – the boys wanted her to be mean and fast.

But she wasn’t mean and she was never as fast as her predecessors, but I believe she possessed much more spirit and personality than any bison that came before or will come after her. She did what she wanted when she wanted to do it – and no one could stand in her way. (Maybe that’s why we got along so well.) And I know that I will always remember this impressive creature, at once gentle and wild, for her great might, tempered by poise and quiet resolve. . . I think I carry a little bit of her spirit with me.

Ski season, where are you?

2007-11-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Sayonara Japan! Hello Vail! I’ve made my way back from the sushi and rice paddies of southern Japan to the Rocky Mountains just in time for ski season. Or, so I thought. Vail was supposed to open tomorrow, but lack of snow has delayed the opening to sometime next week, if we are lucky.

This is kind of a disappointment, considering that my last two seasons here have started off with a bang – powder on opening day! But, that’s unusual, and I’m told that the season before I moved up here, the mountain opened with one run. At least that’s better than no runs, right?

Keystone, A-Basin and Breckenridge are open now, all with just one trail, and everyone wants to go skiing this weekend, but I’d personally rather stick needles in my eyes than ski a snow ribbon of death with thousands of other people who aren’t patient enough to wait for the season to really start.

I think I’ll ride my bike instead, study more GMAT, try to write something worthwhile on my blog, and maybe do a snow dance.

Almost Ski Season

2007-10-23T22:17:00.000-06:00

I caught up on everything just in time to leave for Japan! I’ll be writing my Cooltiques blog, www.cooltiques.blogspot.com until I come home, just in time for Vail’s opening. Then, I’ll get to write about epic Colorado powder days - I can't wait!

SWAMPED!

2007-09-20T20:18:00.001-06:00

I have never been so swamped in my entire life! There are simply not enough hours in the day to get everything done, so how I’m finding time to update my blog is a mystery. Well, maybe less a mystery than just a great procrastination tool.

But, blogging is part of what I do now, so if I don’t get it done, it hangs over my head just like any other project on my list. I would also like to start my copywriting blog and update my website and my listing on Media Bistro, but those things will definitely have to wait . . . until I’ve completed a few hundred more SEO product descriptions for one client, created new web content for another, written copy for an interactive map for somebody else, finished formatting and editing a technical manual, followed up with a few other clients who have things on the burner, and finally created thoughtful copy for a charitable foundation’s website (my pro bono project).

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten my head to spin uncontrollably, I am signing off and not promising anything to this blog until everything else is off my plate.

Quick Catch Up

2007-09-11T22:32:00.000-06:00

For someone who claims to be as addicted to blogging as I do, I sure haven’t done a very good job of feeding my addiction recently. So, let’s see, quick catch up . . .

I moved back to Vail! Well, actually Edwards. And so far I love it. It’s much more livable than Vail with lots of shops and restaurants for us normal people. There’s also a much greater sense of community here, thanks to all the year-round residents.

And as much as I would love to just park it here and not leave for a while, my second love, CU football, (first love, skiing) keeps dragging me back to Boulder and various other places. A few weekends ago, I went to Denver to watch the Buffs play CSU, and win! Last weekend I went to Phoenix to watch the Buffs play ASU, and lose. ☹ Still bummed, but what can you do? It’s in my blood, so I keep going back to watch them get stomped. Which is probably what I’ll be doing this weekend when I head to Folsom Field to see the Buffs challenge Florida State.

Up here in the Vail Valley, I have been really busy getting settled in my new place, working and prepping for ski season. I am actually taking a ski conditioning class with my fellow ski instructors and I love it! It’s a super hard workout, but I think it will really whip me into shape.

So, between moving, catching up on work and settling back into the mountain life, you can see why it has been so hard for me to keep up with my blog. That said, my future entries will hopefully be more exciting, not just a rundown of my recent activities. How boring, but I needed to fill in the gaps.

Until next time, Go Buffs and Think Snow!

Happy Hour Boulder

2007-08-22T23:01:00.000-06:00

I did something today that I haven’t done in a long time – write a Happy Hour Boulder newsletter. When we first launched the site, I was so good about communicating happy hour news on a weekly basis. But, as the luster of new business ownership faded, the parties ended, and the work set in, I began to lose motivation. Over the winter, skiing took precedence, as did work that actually paid, but I still took care of happy hour business as much as possible. By the time summer rolled around, though, and I left for Japan, happy hour news really fell by the wayside, and I was totally neglectful insofar as promoting our brilliant business idea.

On the upside, I diligently maintained the database. So even if anxious happy hour goers weren’t getting a weekly buzz from me, they could still count on the site to be complete and updated.

But, I’ve renewed my happy hour spirit with the idea of featuring a weekly cocktail in our newsletter and creating a happy hour blog (coming soon).

I plan on spending some time over the next few weeks rejuvenating our original plan by reestablishing relationships with different happy hours and the users of our site. We’re planning a one-year celebration and some cool ways to get businesses psyched on keeping their information updated. And, if there’s time, maybe we’ll even hit a happy hour or two. ☺

What time zone am I in?

2007-08-20T15:11:00.000-06:00

I think that this is the latest I have slept in since I was in college. I got in from Boston last night at about midnight, and didn’t set an alarm since I knew my body needed extra sleep, what with my weekend trip on top of my return from Japan. So, when I finally woke up this morning and looked at my clock, I immediately jumped out of bed and set about brewing coffee, eating breakfast, catching up on phone calls and emails. Now, at 2 p.m., I am still not dressed, but at least to the outside world, I appear to be marginally productive.

Anyhow, the weekend was fantastic. I took the red-eye to Boston on Friday night, which put me in Cambridge at about 7 a.m. The hotel staff at the Royal Sonesta was nice enough to let me check in. So, I slept until about noon and then ran across the street to the mall to get a headband and a wrap for my outfit. From there, I hopped a cab to Harvard Square (I am trying to muster academic inspiration for the grad school application process), which was interrupted midway through by a phone call from Sarah. She was getting ready and invited me to hang out in her room so we could catch up a little. So, back to the hotel it was for pre-wedding giggles and sips of champagne.

Now, Sarah is one of my good friends from college. But, we met second semester of her senior year (my sophomore year), after which she moved back to Boston. So, we don’t really have any mutual friends, which is how I found myself at her wedding knowing absolutely no one. Of course, it was totally fine – in fact, I made tons of new friends in her fiancé’s (now husband’s) crowd and connected with friends of hers that I’ve always heard about and never met. So fun!

The wedding celebration commenced with a cocktail reception an hour before the ceremony. I was an especially big fan of the margarita bar, which I think is the most brilliant wedding fixture I’ve ever seen – several of the engaged couples I met found it totally inspiring.

After that, Sarah and Jason got married in a traditional Jewish ceremony. Their chupah was lovely and the ketubah artwork featured scenes of the outdoorsy things that Sarah and Jason love. Their reception also included many Jewish traditions, such as the dancing of hora and mizinke.

After the wedding, about 15 of us continued the party in Sarah and Jason’s bridal suite – romantic, right? I headed to bed at about 2 p.m., shortly after which I’m told everyone else was thrown out of the room.

The next morning I dragged myself out of bed to attend brunch and say goodbye to Sarah. Then it was off to the airport, for yet another lengthy day of travel. First I flew to New York, where I had a four-hour layover at JFK – the worst airport in the world! Then back onboard for a four-hour flight to Denver through every thunderstorm in the country. The more I fly, the more I hate it. I think I will have to be sedated on my next trip to Japan.

Meg skis and does some other stuff, too

2007-08-17T15:29:00.000-06:00

Blogging in Japan was so much fun that I decided to continue posting entries back in the real world. I had a hard time coming up with a blog title, so I stole the name “megskis” from my flickr.com photo account. It doesn’t quite cover all the bases, but since I’ve spent my last few winters ski bumming it in Vail and I am about to move back up there, this time for a year, it seemed at least somewhat appropriate.

At present, I am in Boulder, having nearly recovered from jet lag, only to put myself through the ringer again on a red-eye flight to Boston tonight. My dear friend Sarah (actually the only friend I ever made in a huge lecture at CU) is getting married tomorrow, so I’m off to see her tie the knot.

Then it’s back to Boulder for a week to work (I have several great copywriting projects going now), followed by a short camping trip and weekend in Glenwood Springs before I move up to Vail.

And thus, the Meg Skis blog is begun . . .