April Fools!

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.:)

Totally Worked

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.

Busy girl . . .

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 . . .

Ski season, where are you?

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

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!

Quick Catch Up

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!

Meg skis and does some other stuff, too

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 . . .