2010

Well the dust has finally settled from the holidays! It was fun celebrating the new year up at Boyne with all the festivities they had going on up there. I was able to ski which is remarkable based on how weak my legs are these days. I mainly stayed on the less challenging runs and only wiped out twice. It was really great skiing at night, especially on New Years Eve as it was gently snowing huge flakes which looked beautiful in the lights as I was cruising down the hill :) Had a chance to catch a hot tub too and met some nice people, one of which was a student who happens to be getting ready for medical school. He is currently doing reasearch on cancer and one of his papers was just published in nature.com

There was a scary moment however that I'll never forget. I was waiting in line at the chair lift and looked up when it came to a halt. About 4 chair lifts ahead there was a little boy maybe 5 years old who was hanging on for dear life as he must've slipped off his seat on the lift. It was like time stood still as he struggled to hang on and progressively lost his grip. Somehow he kicked off his skis, then went his poles down to the ground. He was probably 30-40 feet in the air. The kid working the lift had no idea what to do as he was frozen like the rest of us who were in line. One older guy that was next to me kicked off his skis and started heading toward the chair as if he might try and catch him or something. The kid working the lift then got himself together and grabbed a tarp and started to head over to the slipping child. In shock, I was fully preparing for the little guy to drop when all of the sudden, his mother somehow was able to grab him and pull him back up up to his seat. This whole thing probably went on for 45-60 seconds but seemed like an eternity. I don't want to think what would have happened if that kid dropped... Amazingly, after we got off the lift at the top of the hill, there was the little kid completely unfazed and puttting his skis back on for another run down the hill! I think everyone else was way more traumatized than he was, crazy. That was pretty much it for the day run for me and my group as we were all pretty shook up.

At around 10:00 the night of the countdown they did a light parade down one of the hills where everyone held red lights as they ski'd down the hill. It was something to see from a distance. I was so bummed I forgot my camera as it was really beautiful. Once the parade was done, they lit fireworks at the top of the hill, it was really neat.

The evening itself was actually pretty quiet as we enjoyed a nice dinner in the lodge where they had a really nice fireplace. I think I was in bed however at 12:30 after watching Dick Clark do his thing for yet another year! It was a full day of non stop action and I'm still paying for it with unbelievable soreness in my legs and back. Not to mention, it's been super cold here in Michigan the last few days which I'm sure doesn't help. I'm looking forward to going back down to Soflo to warm up! I'm excited to get out and try to surf as I bought a used longboard down there the day before I left. Hoping we have some decent waves the next couple of weeks...

I started to celebrate my birthday last night with a couple of buddies. It's actually on the 5th but figured I'd try and stretch it out over a week ;) I never really used to make a big deal out of my birthday as it happens during the worst time of the year, right after the holidays where everyone is burned out and broke! Last night was a good start however hanging out playing pool at this nice new place in the town where I have a home (currently rented out), Fashionable Ferndale! It was so painful though walking from the car to the bar with the temperature below zero with the wind chill. The wind actually felt like someone was taking sandpaper and rubbing my face with it, a cold burning sensation if that makes sense. Ahh, Michigan winters. So tomorrow my Mom is going to grill some filets and like I mentioned, I fly back to Delray tuesday so hoping to do something fun down there too.

It's been a good trip back home for the holidays :)