My cat Hamlet, who I have commented on before, is loud. I came home from physical therapy for my knee today, got out of my car, and heard this unworldly noise. It took me a second but I realized it was Hamlet. He sounded like cat being waterboarded. When I got in my apartment, he was looking out the sliding glass doors to my balcony. He’s been know to vocalize there before. I actually stopped by the rental office to see if anyone had complained about him…
Taxing Times, Class Inequities, and Ignominy
Tom Daschle, “nominated to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services,” purportedly “did not pay more than $128,000 in taxes over three years,” according to the Washington Post article, Daschle Owed Back Taxes That Exceeded $128,000, dated 31 January, 2009. Will he get the job? Probably… loser. If you make enough money to screw up your tax filing by way more than I make in a year, get a frigging accountant.
In the same article the Washington Post reveals that “Timothy F. Geithner, who was chosen to run the Treasury Department, disclosed that he had not paid some taxes and subsequently paid $43,000 in taxes and penalties.” Will he get the job? Maybe… loser. See trailer above.
WTF? I had the IRS come after me last year because my Social Security number was wrong on an E-Trade account that I closed two years ago which was never worth more than $4000. That took me three or four phone calls to clear up. And for what…so I’d have a clean record for my upcoming Cabinet post nomination? Losers…
Getting a Leg Up After Skinny Skiing
I sprained my knee in a bad way three days ago on our last ski run of the day. Over the course of three days, we had been occasionally dropping/jumping off this eight foot or so drop off from the Giant Boulder trail at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in PA.
We have a group trip there every year that is good skiing and great companionship. Last year we started doing a race that is comprised of the four Black Diamond trails on the north side of the resort. The race went well this year though we had only four participants. Two of them took the wrong lift up after the first run and ended up winning the race. More on that later.
We had figured for a more leisurely run down one of the Blacks to wind up the day when Dan Elbon suggested we hit the drop off one more time. We were all game for it but both Dan and I ran into problems. According to friends and family on the lift that had a great view of the action, Dan didn’t stick well and rolled down the whole drop zone.
I got a good stick but lost it shortly after that. Dan was okay but with skis and poles akimbo. I somehow managed to keep everything close. My downhill (right) ski bindings finally popped, albeit too late for my knee, and one of my poles broke loose. I got one good roll in that smacked my, thankfully helmeted, head into the ground. I think perhaps I should have just taken the fall. I may have tried too hard to stick to my line which torqued my knee. What can I say? Can’t look back, eh?
So why “Getting a Leg Up After Skinny Skiing?” I am keeping the knee elevated per the doctors orders…I guess to keep the swelling down. What to I know? And I broke my streak of not falling. Then last night I watched Caddyshack on TV. Chevy Chase is talking to Judge Smails niece who says she likes “skinny skiing.”
I haven’t fallen in four or five years. It was my mantra. Then I kept bringing it up so I had to have jinxed myself…truly. I skied in Vermont for five days in a row two weeks ago and stayed erect the whole time!
As regards the knee…it did not feel good on the mountain. I could not put weight on it in a way that I felt like I could get down the rest of the run. As I mentioned, a few people I know saw me take the spill and there was a ski patrol shift supervisor going up the lift right about the time I realized that I needed help. We talked, he came right down after he got to the top. After a quick evaluation, he called for a sled, they splinted my leg, loaded me on a sled, and took me down to the First Aid shack
…that was scarier than getting out of control on a speed run…I was strapped into the sled upside down with my head on the down slope…perhaps the ski patrol dude was pissed off at me…he did not waste anytime getting down the hill…
where they loaded me up in a Suburban to take me to ski patrol central. There they did another evaluation and someone like “Stuttering John” took my personal and accidental information for the records. My sister Julie had tracked me down and had her hubby bring my hiking boots down for me so I could get out of my ski boots.
As I reflect back on the questions they asked about the whole incident, I wonder why they didn’t ask what the hell I though I was doing running off the drop off. I have only seen a few people do it and they mostly just drop off from a dead stop where as we were keeping up speed going off the thing. Oddly, the ski patrol guys that I was talking to as they loaded me up in the sled agreed with me that it was a good drop off. I guess they figured if I had the balls to go off the thing, I was probably okay. They said it was awesome earlier in the week when there was some fluff and the snow in the drop zone was softer.
Even considering the spill and risk I took, the ski patrol did not give me any grief. I am sure that they had seen me on mountain. My Budweiser pants are hard to miss. We had actually almost got shut down after the first run of our race. Could have been anyone of us that got called for it because we came into the lift area hard but Lee and I passed through to the next, and correct, lift while Matt and Dan stopped. I think it was Matt who was chastised for coming into the lift line too fast.
So I am sitting here with a leg, actually both, up the sofa. It has been three days but I can put weight on the right leg and walk without support, though having my walking stick helps. I got some crutches when stopped at my doctor’s on the way home yesterday but they suck.
Many thanks to Julie and Ed…Julie took Ryan back to school at WVU and Ed drove me and my car home. And thanks to them for taking care of me including moving all my baggage around and such.
I was able to put my socks and shoes on by myself Monday which was good. Today my knee feels much better. I think the swelling is going down. I am mobile. I can feel the soreness in my right leg muscles which I gather are compensating for/protecting the ligaments or is a result of the overall strain on my leg. Flexibility is increasing and swelling decreasing daily.
Wiping out was a sorry way to wind up the trip but at least there seems to be no permanent damage and it was the last run of the day on what probably would have been the last day I skied on the trip. At least I got three good days in.
News from the Road
I have been on the road since last Friday when I left to head up to Vermont to ski. En route I stopped to see my old Navy buddy Terry Boone in Avoca, PA. We did our usual…head out with Terry’s boys and his dad for dinner and then went out for few drinks. Terry’s hospitality is endless. I always enjoying seeing him and his family.
Saturday I drove from Avoca up to West Addison, VT, to visit my friend’s the Devino’s. There’s another crew with endless hospitality. They put me up a couple of times a year with hardly a whimper. That night we got about 8 inches of snow. I was dying to be on the slopes for the freshies but was committed to making chili. Once that was going well and needed only the occasional stir, I headed off to do some snowmobiling with little Ed and then cross country skied for about two hours.
I had to cook the chili because everyone that tried it the the last time I made it there requested a repeat performance. Did this one with venison. I doubt most people would have known the difference but I could taste it in the cubed parts that I added. It went over quite well again. Linda made, at my request since it was my birthday, a pineapple upside down cake. I love that stuff and rarely ever have it. They all got me a six-pack of TB’s for my birthday…how well they know me.
Monday I had a good 2-3 hours of skiing at Mad River Glen before my legs gave out. Tuesday I drove down to Killington and tacked a half day onto my 3-day package. Once again I got in about 2-3 hours on the mountain. When my legs are in good condition, I can ski about about 5.5 hours a day. Yesterday I got about four hours in but it was in the single digits. Today it was -8 at the bottom of the mountain when I got started at 10:30 and -1 at the top when I headed down for my last run at about 3:45.
I managed to stay reasonably comfortable by doing some serious layering, slathering my face and ears with Vaseline, and adding a thin fleece hat on top of the the balaclava I wear under my ski helmet. Unfortunately, the toes are usually the first to get cold. Thankfully you don’t really notice that when you are pounding down the mountain. I did break down and buy some serious mittens at the end of the day today. My gloves, though quite a nice pair, just weren’t cutting it.
One last note on managing the cold…as in lesson learned. At one point yesterday I was moseying down a long cruiser trail. I didn’t have any wind breaking pants on. Take that as you will… Also, for some dumb reason I was going camo. Even though I had three layers of clothing on the lower half of the body, I darn near froze my you know whats off. It was mighty uncomfortable. Never again
Tomorrow it is supposed to be a few degrees warmer. I’ll get out first thing and stay on the sunny side and try to get 4 or 5 hours in before I call it a day and head back up to Linda’s. I’ll probably head out early Saturday to get back home. Then we are off next Friday for 7 Springs for three more days of skiing. Then I really have to start looking for a job.
Here are a few pics from the trip. There’s nothing special. Though all but one day on the mountain has been beautiful with views for miles, it has just been too damn cold to take pictures.
Leanto’s in DAR State Park in Addison County, VT. I was cross-country skiing from my friend’s house.
View across Lake Champlain to NY from DAR State Park.
Mad River Glen Ski Area.
View from near the top of Mt. Killington.
Old Great Blue Heron
This bird was obviously in control. I think I got to within 30 feet of it. It did not even move. I was on the south side of Newport News Park, VA. Picture taking heaven it was.
Taint What You Think It Is
If you don’t know one of the more curious and obscure definitions of the word “taint” as regards a part of the human body, read no further. Read on if you know to which part I am referring. I just kind of liked the word’s usage in the December 31, 2008 Washington Post Op-Ed by David Broder titled, “Opportunism in Illinois.” As regards the Illinois governor’s (Blagojevitch) selection of Roland Burris to fill president-elect Barak Obama’s soon to be vacant Senate seat, Mr. Obama calls for Mr. Blagojevitch “to step down and allow a senator to be named ‘free of taint and controversy.'”
Perhaps New Hampshire will wish to change their license plates to read “Taint Free or Die….”
Cat’s Meow and Why I Really Have to Find a Job
My cat Hamlet just will not shut up. If he is not meowing at me, he is roaring at something else unknown, doing his Tony the Tiger imitation. He meows when he is hungry, meows when he wants me to go to bed so he can cuddle up to my overweight, warm body, and he meows when he thinks I should get up, even if all that means is that I am going to go back to bed to read.
I found something on the Internet that reflects my cat’s behavior almost exactly. It is called “Rippling/Rolling Skin Syndrome.” I never thought it possible that my cat was anything other than whacked, he is Korean, but there may be some some scientific basis for his behavior. He is 18. I just figured he was old. Ironically, the article says the syndrome is most common with younger cats. Unfortunately, he is also so deaf that I don’t think he even realizes how much noise he is making.
I thought it was bad when I was working and not home all the time. Now that I am around so much more, it is making me even crazier. If monetary needs and Hamlet don’t drive me back to the job market, nothing will. I do have a couple of work arounds planned though. I have three multi-day ski trips planned between now and the end of February so at least I’ll get some respite before I start working again.
Work Cell Phoneless in Centreville
There is a calm, uncertain feeling on one’s first day of unemployment, especially in the IT field. You remember, in awe, what it was like before your first IT job or between IT jobs when you were not effectively “on call” all the time. You get out of bed and reach for that ball and chain, your Blackberry, as you have every day for years…and realize it is not there anymore.
You start some coffee and putter around your abode picking at things thinking about what you could do with the place when you are not actively searching for work. You think about those who you have left behind. You know that the peacefulness will be short lived but also that you have to make the best of it even through the uncertainy of the job hunt.
You think maybe you can take some time to visit family or old friends. You hope you can exercise every day, maybe lose some weight, to get that routine entrenched before you start the daily grind again. You pray that you can get two weeks of good skiing in before you start your new job because it might be a while before you get any more vacation time.
You know that the time will be fleeting… You know you have bills to pay… It still feels pretty good.
Burning BRAs NOW
NOW (National Organization of Weenies), I am going to get a bunch of computer geeks together where we can burn our BRA’s ( binary rendering apparati).
Hawk I D.
I believe this is a red-shoulder hawk. We frequently have hawks in the trees visible thru my office window. I took this picture a week or two ago through my office window with my Nikon D60.
