Day in the life

Being a writer at the OR Show lets me have a perspective that I wouldn't otherwise be able to get. If I went as an athlete, I might be only having fun and not seeing the irony of the 3:30 beer o'clock or the seriousness behind the industry. If I were a retailer, I would be over-booked and generally stressed out. Not to say that writing isn't stressful, but as a writer I can take a step back and get more perspective. Say on why this year's brews were better than last year's.

There is nothing like it

The Outdoor Retailer Show is one of a kind, putting manufacturers of every piece of outdoor equipment imaginable in one room for four days. Chaos and fun always ensue and this year, I have the chance to cover it all as a journalist!

can't stay out of the shop!

You could say that I'm a bit obsessed, but I really wanted to finish the table project that I started with my dad. While I was at home, my dad put in the texture, and now that I am weight bearing, I decided that it was time to finish it up. We sprayed an original layer of black spray paint then sanded and applied a dark stain.




Lunch break.



Voila!

Follow up

Today was the checkup with Hackett. Since he never had a chance to show me the photos of my knee after surgery, he informed me that it was a really good thing that they went in. The photos show it all - before:




and after:

Partay

Hot skillets, fish and spice. Not even surgery can keep me from being excited about a fish taco party. It is the best way to see tons of friends and indulge in deliciousness!

Gotta love PT

It has been a while. And by that I mean more than two months since I have gotten that uncomfortable nauseous feeling that only comes from getting your muscles digged on, especially my psoas. It's almost a game at this point. Lisa, my PT digs on something, I start tapping my foot and she asks how it feels. Of course I reply great! So she digs deeper. Lisa and I have been working together since I was 12, so we have our sarcasm pretty much to a T. After holding in my lunch, I get to recover on the couch at home, then do it all again!

Make do

Steamboat residents deal with a lot of things. So much snow that it is impossible to shovel what is in the driveway over the snowbanks, crowded holiday seasons, spring flooding, and mud, but never before (since 1980) have they had to deal with no snow. Amazingly, locals are adapting with style, if not ease. Many are bringing back out their mountain bikes to go conquer the icy trails of Howelson and many are shoveling off ponds. I'm waiting to see some broom ball!

Award worthy?

I think so!



Eight. That is the official total. I don't think it is something to be proud of, and definitely not something to aim for, but it is noteworthy. My family has had eight total surgeries in 2011. I think if anything, my parents deserve an award.

Gotta have some constants

Mine is definitely the Howelson race scene. Every year, without fail, the Holiday Classic Slalom race at Howelson is bound to bring crowds, cheers, and some good spills. This year, Santa even foreran!

not bad at all

Out of surgery, I was slated to start doing PT exercises right away. After icing and elevating for a while, I figured that I would start moving the joint. I started with my leg hanging off the couch, then I straightened it out. My stomach started gurgling, so I made a snack, finished up and didn't think a thing about it. The next day I went to PT, and the knee looked really good under all the gauze, but when I went to bend and straighten it, my stomach grumbled. My PT and I did a quick double take because it wasn't my stomach that was gurgling, but my knee! He had never heard anything like it, so naturally he took a video (turn your volume on high)! Other than funny noises, probably from the saline flush, It looks like it will be a quick recovery.

There is a funny thing about the past

It doesn’t repeat itself, nor does it bite you, but it definitely has ways to remind you that it is yours to carry around. You can’t get rid of it, and I got just one more reminder of that yesterday. Last year, my right knee started bothering me, so I started doing PT. During cabinhopping, it was flaming up, so I set up a visit down in Vail. After looking at it, I decided that it was time to clean it out. We thought the culprit was my plica. After the surgery, one of the PA’s came by to tell me that there was a ton of scar tissue in there along with an inflamed plica, and that it must have been left over from my femur break, but everything else, including my cartilage looked great.



I have had now six knee surgeries and my wisdom teeth (which was the worst of them all!), but I have no regrets. I have traveled a ton, met great people and learned a few languages along the way. Even from the boring disasters that have been my injuries, I have gained insight and my experience has definitely give me a leg up in interviews, especially in the knee replacement biz.

Would I do it all again? Oh yeah.

Scrabble time

Nothing says family time like a little bit of competition. It was tight between my dad and I until my brother Ben showed up to help my mom. The only thing that saved my lead was the fact that we ran out of pieces pretty quickly. Hey, whatever it takes!

Getting some D

After a term in NH, land of little sun, I was determined to soak in as much vitamin D as I could before heading back to school. In steamboat, after the mountain (and maybe the woodshop), my next favorite place is up north near Sand mountain. The fam and I packed up early, drove and got the snowmobiles running. It was a perfect ten of a day and after a little bit of horsing around, I promptly took a nap on the porch. Bluebird sky. Hanging with the fam. Snow. Yeah, life is good.

Bad snow?

Add some adventure!

Since the hill was a sheet of ice by the end of our day skiing the day before, we decided that an alternative was in order. Rabbit Ears Pass was the destination and to add in a bit of entertainment, we brought the snow-skate. Hilarity ensued, and after tumbling down almost every hill (Andrew was by-far the best), we decided to take a shortcut back to the car. Even though the snow depth was questionable, without snowshoes, it was still thigh high. After thirty minutes of post-holing, we finally reached a trail. I think the trail usually takes twenty.

Laying down some arcs

The snow wasn’t great when I got home from break, but the company was. And if there was ever something that I have learned about telemark, it is that it is fun no matter what the conditions. My school friends and I got on the hill as early as we could, chasing what little bit of groom there could be when it hadn’t snowed for weeks. After weeks and weeks of fantasizing about skiing while doing schoolwork, I was finally doing it. Within no time, I forgot that the last time I had skied was almost a year before, and was laying down trenches and popping every whoop de do. Afterwards, with post-ski hunger, it just felt good to be home.