Beneath a Sun that Never Sets

Discovery

2010-07-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite snowboarders, Travis Parker, once humorously but honestly stated "I don't invent, I discover."

If there is nothing new under the sun, at best we can unfold the world around us and find it for ourselves. When I'm outside, away from the poured and cut made-up world, and I am standing in a remote spot, I sometimes wonder if I'm the first person to ever stand on those few small square inches of land. I wonder if I've ever been the first in any of those instances.

This week, my friend Kenny and I are riding our track bikes, along with our friend Sean on his road bike, from Eugene to Portland. The reasoning behind this is the same reasoning I have used for various dumb stuff I've done in the last few years- I'm only young once, and as I get older, these things will become increasingly harder to justify.

We aim to make this a ride of discovery, (though Kenny already rode to Portland 2 years ago, in jeans and with riser bars). Discovery of ourselves and our surroundings. It's one thing to jump in a car and zip up the interstate at 65 miles per hour, and simply observe the landscape through a glass canopy. It's a whole new level of intimacy to know the land, channeling through your bike as a medium. You remember the climbs, descents, twists, and turns. Your senses are heightened, and you experience where you are going.

A few months back, two friends from San Francisco rode from there to Portland, on their track bikes, with nothing but backpacks of supplies. Doing something like that resonates deeply with me; I couldn't stop looking through the photos they posted after the trip. Coming up mostly along the coast, and then cutting inland to Eugene, they braved rain, hill climbs, hill bombs, sketchy automotive corridors, and slept outside at one point. The rewards of this, as far as I can see and could tell of from speaking with them, was an experience. One that you can't easily convey to others.

Chas, shot by Steve, somewhere on the Unknown Coast.

Coastal Mist

2010-06-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Day One.

We awake at our quiet bed and breakfast up the McKenzie Highway. Quirky, somewhat awkward hosts, but excellent for what it is. We depart and set south on I-5. Roseburg provides a stop for us at Fred Meyer, and we continue. Stop for lunch at Grants Pass diner. Course set on Cave Junction highway, for Crescent city. Gorgeous and diverse mountainous stretch, full of treacherously winding roads. Happily, was more of a descent than anything else. Mist thickens and we arrive in Crescent City, California. Our motel is on the beach, and next to the docks. We find a lone street to ride our bikes out to rocks overlooking the cove, take pictures, and enjoy our first full day of being married. Ride bikes to dinner at The Good Harvest. Hot tub and sleep.

Day Two.

A much farther drive ahead of us today. Wake early to try and beat San Franciscan rush hour. Ride bikes to breakfast again at The Good Harvest. We quickly hit 101 South. Foggy start, and the highway repeatedly takes us above and back into the fog. A constant switch between sheer coastline and redwood covered mountains. Northern California is gorgeous. The highway brings us in from the coast after the wasteland stretch of Eureka. We begin to experience warmer temperatures and more leeward mountain environs. Stops for fuel and food in podunk towns.

The redwoods recede and we move through the outskirts of wine country. The temperature breaks 100F. Long and mentally exhausting stretch, followed by getting caught in a field burning related traffic jam around Santa Rosa. We finally cross the Golden Gate bridge. Driving in San Francisco must be hard on cars. I feel accomplished in being able to effortlessly negotiate the hills, driving a manual transmission. Quickly find our hotel, check in, gut the car and have it valet parked.

We recover from the long drive, and set out to gather our bearings. Walk 16 blocks to dinner. Our first choice was closed for salsa dancing, so plan B is delicious Thai food. We make our way back. Along the way, I begin to recognize hills and streets featured in a few urban track bike movies. Most notable is looking down California Street, where the opening scene to MashSF was shot. Unbelievable. We head back with a 32 ounce bottle of beer and call it a night.

Day Three.

An extremely restful previous night of sleep, and we feel refreshed. We have delicious middle-eastern style breafast at Saha below our hotel. Our task is set to go to Telegraph Hill and see San Francisco from Coit Tower. The weather is extremely clear, and the view is great. We then head for the piers, to be close to the water. Forgetting the spectacle that is Fishermans Wharf, we accidentally dive headfirst into the cloud of fanny-packed tourists. Course is reset, and we head back in the direction of our hotel hoping to find lunch. A long and unsuccessful search and walk all the way back to our hotel, only to find a Yemeni restaurant that is exactly what we wanted. Excellent meal. We return to our room to rest.

I decide to go ride my bike to experience SF with one gear and no brakes. Our hotel is on a Sutter Street, and I am treated to a pleasant, fast ride downhill. I make off for the Mission district. Biking in downtown San Fransisco is a unique experience. Moving with and through traffic, climbing hills, bombing hills, and navigating through town. One of my smaller dreams is now achieved.

Return to our hotel, and take my wife to Millenium. Spend almost 100 dollars on a meal. It's been a long and fun day in the bay.

Snaps

2010-01-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

Bethy and I fought New Years day boredom and shot some riding photos between downpours. Obviously she has more finesse with film than I.

Post-Solstice

2010-01-04T23:47:00.000-08:00

It's that stretch between the holidays and spring, those cold, lifeless months where my mind is transfixed on the horizon of time where the days are brighter, longer, and the smoke comes from barbecue grills rather than chimneys. In the Willamette valley, the days become grey, damp and chilled. From time to time however, we experience something that is to be cherished in these months. The sun is mostly visible, the air is dryer, and the whisper of another season presents itself.

The other day was one of those. A day less dreary than the rest, one that was warmer and less bitter. Some winters have more of those than others.

And it doesn't seem to start until after December, after the winter solstice. You wake up, and your mind and body chemistry are tricked into forgetting the status quo of the coastal Pacific Northwest. In late February or early March, there is a week of fair weather, a preview of what's to come, if you will. The temperature will sometimes even hit 70, and the college students from other places will pull their couches outside, take off their shoes, and play frisbee/football in their yards. The more forgetful, the less mindful, and more hopeful will don their shorts and sandals, exposing the world to their pale legs they have been working on since September. The next week that the blessed high pressure system breaks, they will bitterly gripe that the weather here is a wicked tease that plays with our hearts. I agree, but with sympathy towards the way things work here; in that respect, this place is what it is, not what we want it to be.

I have been in silent mourning over my cousin moving out of Eugene. Just as fast as he appeared, he found something more fitting to him and took the opportunity. On a superficial note, I will miss where he lived- an apartment complex out in one of the lame suburban reaches of northern Eugene. It wasn't until a month or so after he moved here that I found I could get to his place riding a beautiful six-mile stretch of bike path, that runs all the way along the river and ended 2 blocks from his house. Those meditative rides through the night, to and from his place, caused me to write a few times.

It goes without saying that I will miss having him here. He is one of my very best friends, and though we are incredibly different from one another, we have always meshed well and fed off each other, from the time we were kids.

Lithograph

2009-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

"Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Listen to carrion — put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go.

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection."

- Wendell Berry

448t Consecration

2009-12-20T01:07:00.000-08:00

There then to Thee Thine own I leave,
Mold as Thou wilt my passive clay;
But let me all Thy stamp receive,
But let me all Thy words obey.
Serve with a single heart and eye,
And to Thy glory live or die.

Engaged

2009-12-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

On 12/3/2009 I became engaged to the sweetest, most gorgeous and lovely girl I have ever met. The time I have gotten to spend with her thus far has already done so much in both of us, I look forward to finding out who we are and discovering each other and the world around us, until the end of our days. I love you, sweet Bethany...

Shrine

2009-11-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

Those words that move but do not leave
Remain as close company
Voices from the past
Stings in the present
Scars in the future
Facing across the sea of space and time
Yours is the passage

Your Russia

2009-11-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

Wovenhand | Your Russia from markalamarama on Vimeo.

Rust

2009-10-11T01:58:00.000-07:00

A ride through the night brought me to randomly run into my friend Hunter, on 15th street. He had gotten a flat somewhere around 30th street and 10 blocks over. I accompanied him on the remainder of his bike walk. The night was still, the air indifferent. Autumn nights are truly something to behold, and I know there are few who get to enjoy them the way a handful of us do.

If we, in our closest to working state, are a holistic sum of parts, it is because of what we amass over time. Days, weeks, months, and years become us. Every single choice tells who we are.

Gems Untold

2009-08-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

With the crystals of the night hanging overhead, the cool chill of latter summer surrounds and rushes past. It was windy 2 hours ago, but has now calmed to a gentle breeze. Ten miles ahead of me, home. My immediate surrounding, the ever unfolding horizon, filtered through a steady gaze upon the cement path, only slightly eroded by the regular northwestern rain.

The city and its inhabitants are widely in a state of sleep and quiet, worlds are dreamt and rest is sought after. You feel this as you ride past the dimly lit apartments and houses, lights courteously left on for those not in the proper rhythm of life. Trees speak their own language to the purple sky, some even shedding their leaves early, as if to say this season treated them poorly. Most present, however, reach for the skies and collect the dew of the night, which will become more and more prominent as fall creeps closer.

On older stretches of the path, holes have become worn in the pavement, lending themselves to damage the wheels of those not alert to their presence. I am entering into town. The freeway always seems to hum, vehicles lightly stretching the fabric of space and time, and unwittingly, creating a perpetual drone, multitudes of single motors creating and contributing to a whole, along their wide, pronounced stretch of oily grey roadway.

The railroad ahead of me is in use, the bells are ringing, the gates are down and the lights are flashing. Presented with the option of riding a bridge directly over the moving obstruction, I opt to wait and watch the mass of self-propelling steel. How many souls, I wonder, are hiding away in the partially open box cars? The train passes by and into the distance, and I continue on.

Crossing the imaginary boundaries of neighborhoods, I travel through the less desired part of town where from some are repelled, while others find refuge in it. Christmas lights illuminate doorsteps and hang above porches, lawn chairs and couches are permitted to be outside, and the smell of barbecue grills burning hours ago still haunts the block. My house comes into view, and the thought of passing and continuing straight ahead occurs to me, but for tonight, I take the turn and retire.

It's late August, and riding my bike through the early AM hours here creates something divine and awkward to express.

To The Night

2009-08-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

I can already see myself looking back on this summer wishing I had tried to make more of it. In my ideal world, I get off work and energetically ride my bike or skateboard with my friends, late into the night, we lay in the grass drinking cheap beer late into the night and enjoy the benign comfort of the balmy clear world under the stars...

... but unfortunately, it has seemed like more often than not, I am running myself ragged and am far too burnt out at the end of the work day to want to do anything past 11pm. And weekends are the time to get stuff done that I can't during my work week.

Such is life.

My lovely girlfriend moves to Eugene in just over a month. This has been one aspect of the summer that makes me wish it were over sooner. But time is what it is, and though being busy can make us perceive it as moving by faster, enjoying it does so too, along with actually having something to look back on. The years I spent working my ass off to save money and throwing just about everything else by the wayside, are little more than vague blurs and mundane, distorted memories.

At any rate, the good pieces of my free time this summer have been ones to cherish. I have gotten to skate a little bit, and have ridden hundreds if not over a thousand miles on my bike already. By no means do I consider this summer a waste. There is always some aspect we can improve on, but it's not worth throwing the whole thing away altogether.

Older Gem

2009-08-09T01:11:00.000-07:00

Future Darkness part 2

2009-07-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

Just a few randoms from the past months. The coast seems to be a common theme in this set.

I love Bethany!

Future Darkness

2009-07-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

Thinking about posting more. Hmm...

Macaframa

2009-07-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Last week, I picked up my copy of Macaframa, the latest highly anticipated fixed gear movie. It is based out of San Fransisco and features a handful of talented riders, filmed and edited by two film students. To summarize, this movie slays. Packed with hill bombs, busting through traffic, and a plethora of tricks, the pace is kept incredibly well with various brief pans and time lapses of the city and a solid, mostly classic rock soundtrack (many songs featuring excellent usage of the organ).

This project took 3 years to complete, and the end result says 3 years well spent. Hats off to you guys! Go watch it!

Transcendence

2009-06-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

I want to peel back this layer, reveal my new skin to the open air, I feel the cleansing wash over me, and I'm finally able to breathe.

Hephzibah

2009-05-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

This week I flew out and spent time with the most beautiful girl I've ever met. And wish we would have taken more pictures.

As Such

2009-05-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I embark on a journey to the not-so-far west, where the land has a different personality, there are no volcanoes, and the democratic party does not exist.

Scissors

2009-05-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

For the first time in a while, I took a slow ride home tonight.

Get Pitted

2009-05-15T00:56:00.000-07:00

So pitted!

Alley cat race this Saturday! I am helping throw it.

Stay Down

2009-05-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Of all the times of year in the valley, this is definitely my favorite. The payoff for the crappy weather comes in the form of mildly warm and sunny days, chilly and bright evenings, and the smell of new life blooming. We are all reinventing ourselves, all changing with the seasons, and all anticipating the warmer months ahead of us.

It's almost as if I have softened to the idea of staying here a little longer than expected. When I landed back here and knew there was no going back to Europe, I determined to make it up to Portland or out of here, as soon as possible. And I still don't want to stay here forever, but for the time being, I am mildly content with sticking around here and looking into the future. I am not excited with the idea of taking college loans or financial aid, but maybe it's the right thing to do. It's hard to tell.

Noteworthy: the new As Cities Burn album, Hell or High Water is great. Maybe not as ambitious as Come Now Sleep, but still worth a listen. The new mewithoutYou album and Mat Kearney album are both coming out on the 19th, the new Isis album came out at the end of March, and there are a handful of others I can't remember. There is some good music out there right now.

Seasons

2009-05-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's now spring in the Willamette Valley, without the bitter pretense of winter's chill. The sun comes out and it gets to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and we all chatter excitedly about how great the weather is as we walk around in the grass with our shoes off and plan gatherings for evening barbecues. But just as easily, the rains come and we hide inside and gripe to each other about how much the weather sucks and how ready we are for it to be summer.

Last night I was hanging out with some friends from work. On the ride there, my pants got soaked in a sudden downpour. When I got to the apartment, Mason, who had also ridden there, found himself in a very similar predicament- so we went in on a dryer cycle and hung out in towels for an hour. It looked hilarious. And people saw us from their windows facing our apartment.

When it was time to head back, Mason and I determined the weather had cleared up and heedlessly grabbed our bikes and headed back into town- 2 blocks in, the heavens opened up on us and soaked us much deeper than the first time. Shoes full of water, pants drenched, backpacks soaked through, and us laughing and screaming the whole ride.

Just like the seasons we see change around us, life has it's own seasons. People around me seem to be happier than they were even a month ago, we find ourselves drawing to each others company more easily and casually, and the general "under the weather" depression is waning with the longer days and warmer temperatures.

As it's light when I get off work around 7pm, I have been riding my bike more and more afterwards, taking longer trips at higher speeds, meeting other people who like to ride track bikes, riding and relaxing into the early hours of the morning. I found this video a few weeks ago, and I still get stoked every time I watch it. It captures the great mutual feeling of riding fast, being slightly mischievous, and to top it off, riding fixed gears with Lance Armstrong.

Catch Up

2009-04-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

The other weekend, my buddy Jake and I went and filmed some snowboard shredd at Willamette Pass on closing weekend. Enjoy!

Willamette Pass Mini-Shred ELPH Edit from Jacob Dyste on Vimeo

Ramp It A La Bike

2009-03-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

My bike bros and I went to the bowl and shot some photos of us RAMPING IT the other day. It hailed on us right after this. Thanks Pacific Northwest spring.

The First and the Last

2009-03-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

Living in Eugene makes me physically ill. From about March into June, anything that is green and has roots goes into a blooming frenzy, which in turn makes my janky immune system go into overdrive. Sometimes you can see the culprit crap floating in the air in bright green clouds of pure misery. This results in a constant runny/plugged nose, sinus pressure, itchy/teary/swollen/crusty eyes, and even fits of asthma. On bad days, I will deal with it all day, and then come home from work and pass out because my body is overwhelmed. This is not OK.

Someplace a bit drier and with scarcer plant life sounds so good right now. There is no way around it.

Here are a few shoddy pictures I shot from us getting pitted last night. SO fun!

Way to Go Homie!

2009-03-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Mat Kearney puts an interesting twist on The Boss' style. I really dig this.

Take Note

2009-03-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

From one screw-up to another: "every saint has a past and every sinner has a future".

Barspins for St Patrick's

2009-03-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Learned barspins the other night! First one is way sketch, and the second is among the cleanest I've done yet, but the camera ran out of memory right as I landed. Then it started pouring. Oh well. Happy St Patrick's day!

Epic Win

2009-03-11T01:04:00.000-07:00

Perhaps a trip to Colorado Springs is in order this summer?

Ramp It

2009-03-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

More to come, I'm sure. My footy is pretty weak warm up stuff for now, but I like it that way!

Nails

2009-02-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

On Friday I got to ride another deck coming in hot for next season, the Capita Green Machine. It was a size 156, featuring a rocker shape that runs flat between the inserts and curves upwards towards the ends, which have flat kinked kicks. Also, this board is made from a wide array of recycled/organic/sustainable materials, including devoured hippy blood. The board looks sharp, with multi-colored ping-pong ball pattern looking sidewalls, tasteful color schemes, and flat-kinked kicktails.

My first impression of the board was that it was a much more dramatic departure from a traditional snowboard shape than the Rome I rode last week. The rocker is such that you really have to lean back and snap the tail to get a good ollie pop, but once you figure it out, it feels a little more natural than doing so against the resistance of a cambered board (though I would still say I am better at the latter). In turn, it is also an extremely soft board, I'm guessing even softer than my Capita Stairmaster from previous seasons. Turns were much less knifey by default, though if I wanted to, I could dig in and and lay some hard carves with a well held edge.

For the first hour of the day or so, there was a good 15 inches of what could almost be considered powder, though it was already starting to get heavy. But riding through it, leaning back and letting the natural curve of the board keep the nose floating was easy, and I was able to porpoise jump and lay turns at will.

The overall feel of the board was extremely jibby, and it felt like I could fold it in half if I wanted to. Really fun for sliding stuff and doing things that require the board to flex. High speeds didn't cause much grief, though I could see there being problems in choppy rough snow. The one downfall was that the soft flex, with heavy, "grabby" snow, caused the board to buckle a few times when I am pretty sure a stiffer board would have been able to push through the snow.

This board feels best suited towards park riding, and I am hoping to spend a full slushy day in the park on it to try and get the most out of this board. It feels way different even from the Rome Postermania 1985, and is not for the faint of heart. Overall I liked it and look forward to playing around with it more.

Goliath

2009-02-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today I had the pleasure to ride a next seasons' Rome deck, the Postermania '85. It was a 156cm, and though that is by traditional standards, an ideal freestyle board length for me, it was a little long for my tastes (I like abnormally short boards). But I was able to push it around fine for what I wanted to do with it. The graphics are pretty awesome, and for that particular size, for some reason the graphic reminded me so much of The Mars Volta that I listened to them on the drive up and down from the mountain. Rome does a good job with their graphics, for the most part.

This deck has a rocker shape that curves throughout the board. They call it their "all around" rocker- they also have a powder-specific rocker that is set back, and a jib rocker that is more of a 3-stage- meaning that the ends buck up pretty abruptly, and the middle is flat. I had never ridden a rocker board before, and have heard mixed reviews on them. My first reaction was that it rides just how you would imagine- the board is already in the shape of a turn, so it initiates a turn a bit quicker, and you can feel the "bite" coming a bit more from between the bindings.

The first half of the day I rode on one of the longer, most convenient trails at Willamette Pass, and laid out some nice turns, buttered some flats, popped some spins, tweaked some grabs, tapped some signs and bonked some stumps- it performed awesomely, as I would expect a Rome to. The thing is, I am not sure how much of a difference the rocker really made for me. I didn't feel any hindrance or drastic improvement, it just felt like I was snowboarding. The conditions that day were firm/slushy, and the board did fine in both. I would be curious to see how it rides powder, as that is a big hype point for rocker boards.

The second half of the day I met up with some friends who instruct in the morning and have the afternoon off. We were in the mood to jib an up-box and make a session out of hiking it. The rocker handled the box really well. With the upwards curve of the board, being sideways on a box didn't have the sensation of the edges "wanting" to dig into the sides of the box like a normal cambered board. Pressing felt amazing. It was a solid jib session. After hiking and hitting the box for at least 2 hours, we called it good and headed back.

Overall I think I want to spend some more time on rockered boards before I sling a solid opinion, but I think I liked it. If nothing else, the graphics for next year are pretty awesome. I highly suggest trying out a board with rocker, as it's an interesting new realm in snowboard design that is being actively explored.

Caffeine Cat

2009-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Today there was a pretty low profile alleycat race, which I participated in. There were 12 competitors in all (that term is a bit of an overstatement). At almost every checkpoint we had to pound a cup of piping hot, gritty coffee. In turn, I do not drink coffee, but did so anyway in the name of participation. As we were riding out to one of the far-reaching check points, it started hailing like crazy on us. It was hilarious. My friend Kenny and I were pretty casual about it, enjoying our coffee at each check point, having a cigarette and talking about life. But this in turn got us in last. Super rad time though!

I don't even know if anyone from Eugene actually reads this, but I highly recommend coming and riding if you haven't! And I will do better with posting about this stuff beforehand.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2009-02-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

Italian Spiderman is possibly the worlds greatest of superheroes.

Auto Rock

2009-02-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

Employee Appreciation Day! Free everything you could ever want, including bus ride to mountain, beer, pizza, beer, dinner afterwards, and beer. The mountain was icy, but we did it proper, hit some cool tricks and had a great time!

Willamette Pass

2009-01-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

Oh how the tides have turned. 2 years after deciding to never ride Willamette Pass again, I have acquired the ability to ride there for free on a corporate pass. Just the way God intended for it to be.

As we were walking to the customer service office to sign the liability waivers, we had boards in hand, about to set them to the side of the door, as Willamette Pass does not allow skis or snowboards inside their lodge and would rather leave people's unsupervised boards to the maelstrom of theft that traditionally exists in ski resort base areas. Just as we were about to set our boards on the wall next to the door, 2 brassy doofuses in black Willamette Pass jackets aggressively exclaim,

"You can't take your boards through the lodge. You have to go around."

To which we reply, "We are not. We are going to guest services."

"No. Read the sign. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT IN THE LODGE."

"We're not."

"YOU CAN'T TAKE YOUR BOARDS IN THE LODGE!"

This went on for 30 seconds at least, these guys obviously had a huge chubby for throwing their minimum-wage-enabled power around and a solid mental resolution that with the louder they repeated themselves, we might stand down and would take our boards out of the 6 foot radius of their doors, ensuring them from the possibility that we might wait until they weren't looking and make a mad board-in-hand dash into the lodge and violate their sanctity from skis and snowboards.

"Too bad we are not!" with this we set our boards where we had been planning all along, flashed them the dirty 'you are idiots' look and went inside to redeem our day of free shredding.

Presumptuous morons. I hope your jobs are declared obsolete the next time the price of ketchup packets in the cafeteria rises.

Pure Gold!

2009-01-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

Found a frontside air I did at my high school's skatepark back in 2002!

fs air | Snowboard.com

Violence

2009-01-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

Snowboard and bindings? Check. Boots? Check. Salvaged outerwear and random clothing back from Switzerland after 4 months of separation? Check!

Time to go shredd proper this weekend. Long freaking time coming!

Ray Barbee - Ban This

2009-01-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

This is probably my favorite reflection of what I love in skateboarding. There's something so awesome about seeing skateboarding back then, a pool of new ideas and tricks that needed names. While dudes were going buck wild in the halfpipes and pools of southern California in the 80's, a new movement opened up seeking to apply that same attitude of artistic trickery to the streets. Thus street skating began its upward sweep which has continued to today.

2009

2009-01-01T18:07:00.000-08:00

Time for a turn of the page and the opening of a new can of ass kickery.

To Verify

2008-12-14T23:02:00.001-08:00

Life is not all shitty. Last night I was very retrospective and pissed off about some stuff. I still feel a pretty nasty ding from stuff people have had the nerve to do (actually just one, don't worry about it). And a part of me wishes I could keep being a rockstar and run around the world as a snowboarding missionary on other people's tab. But I chose to be responsible. I don't need to explain that one.

So I had to hit the reset button on life, basically. And that's kind of a weird one, because I was banking so hard on not having to do that anytime soon. Or at least having a cushy landing upon returning to domesticated life.

This is one of those corridors in life where you aren't afforded the luxury of being able to look far ahead and make big decisions. All you can do is work, socialize, try to find enjoyment and be responsible.

The last 3 years of life have been committed to epic build ups followed by epic adventures. I tried really hard to see things in full circle, like it would all fall into place for me, as if somehow when I returned, everything would be "right" for me, and I could have moved to Portland, apprenticed to do tattoos, get married and go snowboarding twice a week.

And you know what? I really thought that was going to happen. For a month or so I was sure that was how it would unfold. But stuff has changed. And I am not so sure what I am doing anymore.

A Toast

2008-12-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

Here is to broken dreams. Here is to words that meant nothing, love that was fake, and time that went by the wayside. Here is to wasted emotions, wasted effort, and wasted investments. Here is to being a low priority, being treated as a back-pocket item, and a dispensable afterthought.

Here is to watching your hopes and ambitions grow wings and fly away. Here is to sacrifice that ruins you and leaves you with nothing. Here is to burying yourself in anything else in efforts of escaping reality. Here is to losing hope in the things we learn to place our hope in. Here is to being left high and dry at a dead end with no direction.

Here is to searching for faith on the edge of desolation.

Control + Alt + Delete

2008-12-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

"When a big company that gets into trouble is more valuable living than dead, there used to be a well-established legal process for reorganizing it - called chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Under it, creditors took some losses, shareholders even bigger ones, some managers' heads rolled. Companies cleaned up their books and got a fresh start. And taxpayers didn't pay a penny."

-Robert Reich

Format

2008-12-07T21:58:00.000-08:00

Here is an excerpt from the author's note of one of my favorite books in the world, Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller. A few years back it sort of became an allegorical manifesto to life for me.

"Everybody has to change, or they expire. Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.

I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes. So things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying in me when it's time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently."

"No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath:

I'll tell you how the sun rose
A ribbon at a time...

It's a living book, this life; it folds out in a million settings, cast with a billion beautiful characters, and it's almost over for you. It doesn't matter how old you are; it is coming to a close quickly, and soon the credits will roll and all of your friends will fold out of your funeral and drive back to their homes in cold and still and silence. And they will make a fire and pour some wine and think about how you once were... and feel a kind of sickness at the idea you never again will be."

Hot Action

2008-11-30T23:26:00.001-08:00

Bike Repair from Stegnco on Vimeo.

If only you could fix everything by running it over with a car...

Like cottered cranks, for example.

Not In Rivers, But In Drops

2008-11-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

Also, late night patrol cops are freaking weird. Long story short, a sketchy late night traffic ticket on false grounds was followed by a 6am call and notification that there had been a mistake and the ticket was voided.

Nine

2008-11-26T23:07:00.001-08:00

The words of gods lie among us
In the glazed clay of ruin
At the source of subtle bodies to know the sky
And how it was hammered into place
Where all graces are electric
And the days are all nine
And the nights are all nine
All nine

Yet Another Turn...

2008-11-24T18:49:00.000-08:00

Since we last left off, I've acquired my old job of doing granite counter tops and also selling snowboards and skateboards at Tactics. It is a kick. I am planning on working my ass off until I A) drop dead, B) get into a slightly more stable plane of life, or C) go crazy and skip out of Eugene.

Every Word

2008-11-21T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Other SIde of the Crash

2008-11-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

With everything that has been going on, from one minute an international snowboard missionary to an absolute (state of) wash-up the next, I don't know if I could pick enough descriptive metaphors, or even one entirely adequate one, to describe how weird the last 3 months have been. I don't think I have to.

Last night I was riding my bike across town to feed a friend's dog. I had been at church on the complete opposite side of town, and then at the bar with some friends off in the stretch of another corner of town. So I am making another long journey to the south part of town, and decide to cut through the Lane County fairgrounds. It's roughly 11 pm.

The fairgrounds are pitch black, and my dinky little handlebar light is more for making me visible, not lighting the path ahead of me. I am too poor. So I am noticing that all the gates I want to go through to cross to the bike path are closed. Odd. I keep peddling on, at a very high velocity, looking for an opening to get out of there. I look up ahead of me, and in 10 feet a gate spanning the road is waiting for me. There was no way to make this end well. I went into a skid and spun sideways, but still nailed the chain-link fence and bounced off like a rag doll.

Two kids lurking in the parking lot saw the whole thing happen from a distance and made sure I was OK. Everything was in working order and I was able to turn and go back the way I came. I am pretty sure they will be laughing about it for years to come. The rest of the night I was pretty well rattled, but not hurt.

All in all, everything is going to be OK. My dreams are not dead, the fire has just died down for now. Things will be rearranged and altered, but the outcome will be right.

Last Light

2008-11-11T17:28:00.000-08:00

I need you to be the strength of widows and sole survivors
I need you to be as fearless as new mothers and new fathers
I need you to be the hope of hearts who lost true love
I need you to be the might of their first kiss
I need a purpose and I need a reason
I need to know that there is trophy and meaning
To all that we lose and all we fight for
To all our loves and our wars
Keep breathing
Keep living
Keep searching
Keep pushing on
Keep bleeding
Keep healing
Keep fading
Keep shining on
This is for the hearts still beating

Belly Full of Hell

2008-11-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

After my DTS in New Zealand, I felt positively compelled and called to go to Switzerland to staff the new school in Davos. I made a committment to being there for 2 years, for better or for worse. I was so sure that I had a near-mandate to do whatever was necessary to get out there, that I simply lived the year on fast forward, just ignoring my friends and even family except when convenient. It didn't matter, because I was going to Switzerland and didn't have to worry about anything because I would get out there and everything would be awesome and I wouldn't have to come back home except to visit once a year.

I can't even begin to explain on how many levels I was wrong.

Long story short, it all came crashing down after being out for under a year. What was me coming home to visit for 4 weeks, turned into me catching wind of things going amiss, to pushing my flight back by over a month, to not returning at all. This is due to money and support. In YWAM there is no such thing as a paid position. Every single member fends for themselves in gathering support from friends, family, and church.

I was able to save up enough from working to coast on my own funds to fly out there and live for almost half a year. However, that money didn't last forever, and I had to go peddling to friends and family for extra money to go on an outreach that we were so sure "God was calling us to". After that though, I was in Davos for another 2 months, and stretched the little money I had left by starving myself and spending money on next to nothing. I had to cast hope onto my people back home to support the upcoming year, and I hoped I could garner more support during my visit home. What waited for me here was a cold hard reality.

My family was asked to leave our church a few months before I first departed to Switzerland. My family has next to no money themselves. My relatives were able to support me before the economy started to crumble. Friends who were able to support me before suddenly found themselves coming up short, or worse yet, unemployed. We watched the economy crumble and the government sentence us to clean up after the mess the mega-corporations left.

It would have been utterly ridiculous for me to go back to Davos, expecting others to pick up the tab in their strife. I blame no one except for myself for not having the foresight to see this coming. I have no regrets except how much I wasted along the way in terms of relationships, time, and money.

Now, was God telling me I had to go to Davos? I think it is possible, but I will not blame him for this. And regardless, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to even get to do such a thing. Maybe this was the plan the whole time, to have me out there for only a year. But that doesn't help my situation of being stuck here with absolutely nothing to my name aside from a suitcase of belongings, no job, and no current direction.

My view of "pre-destination" has become so tainted in the last few years. Where I used to believe that we run upon pre-laid tracks for our lives, I can not justify thinking that anymore. People are starving, suffering, being raped, being mistreated, being murdered, and being given nothing to place their hope in. The God I say I believe in, does not do this. He can not be responsible for this. Rather than Him sitting up in the sky and calling the shots for everything to happen, I believe He has enabled us to care for each other and to make stuff happen. Provide for eachother's needs. To feed the hungry, care for the sick, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, and have heart for the broken hearted. And it is painfully obvious that we are failing at this. Miserably.

That is what God told us to do, over and over, from him adressing the Israelites through Moses, to the prophets, to Jesus, to the apostles. Live for each other. Stop worrying about yourself so much and start looking out for the well being of others. This is not how we are saved, this is how we are enabled.

Yeah...

2008-11-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

I agree.

Black with a Little Grey Around the Edges

2008-11-06T01:23:00.000-08:00

So good. Heavy music misses these guys.

GPS

2008-11-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

Now that the weather in the Willamette Valley has turned to seasonal garbage, The Black Heart Procession sets the perfect mood for hiding from long drawn-out spells of rain.

Excellent

2008-11-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

We just might stand a chance! Plus he rides a fixie!

Random Hearts

2008-10-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

I really like Tom Gabel and his boys in Against Me!.

Rippin'!

2008-10-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

Got my bike riding tonight, it was a liberating experience to glide through the evening on the way home from the Communal Bike Shop.

Death Trap

2008-10-23T01:11:00.000-07:00

LOL @ satire on Craigslist.

"It is totally ready to ride and will probably kill you."

Junius

2008-10-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

With everything else that has fallen through, Junius won't be playing in Davos. But I will say that when they release their next record, whether this year or early in the next, it will reign supreme over all others.

New Turn

2008-10-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

True story. I currently have no steady job. I have a handful of money, and nice parents who are letting me crash with them. People have been rad enough to let me paint or work for a few days for them when needed.

I have had a silent obsession with bikes for a few years now, and I even bought a cheap one in Thailand that I gave to someone at the end of my stay. But now I am in the states for a while, and if there is any way to properly bottom myself out, it's with a bike.

It started with browsing the selection of used parts at the local communal bike shop. Then my Dad remembered that my grandparents have bikes sitting in their garage that likely haven't been touched in 30 years. A call and a visit confirmed this, and we found ourselves driving away with a KILLER Peugeot road bike. I'm under the semi-verified assumption that it is a '75 UO8.

This is my project for the next span of time. Definitely want to make it my primary form of transit, and hopefully it will keep me moving and entertained until my snowboard gear comes back (it's still in Switzerland) and I actually have money to go riding.

New Order

2008-10-09T16:51:00.001-07:00

Switzerland is out. Getting on with things here is in.

Signal Snowboards

2008-10-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested in snowboards and snowboarding-related stuff, Signal Snowboards just launched their new site. They are one of the few of a handful of companies that build their own boards, in the US, and have some pretty cool ideas in the manufacturing/design arena. So check it if you like shredd!

www.signalsnowboards.com

State of Affairs

2008-09-30T23:49:00.002-07:00

It is seriously looking like there will be no return to Switzerland, due to a shortage of money. This is an abrupt and profound realization, which kind of sucks.

So now I'm looking at jobs, getting my stuff back here, and starting up with the next handful of plans I have.

Why Oregon Rules

2008-09-23T23:30:00.003-07:00

Because this guy rules.

Olympic Peninsula part 2

2008-09-19T10:46:00.006-07:00

Olympic Peninsula

2008-09-14T22:18:00.006-07:00

For Marayah and I's last blast, we headed up to Portland, where we had a going away party for her. Following this, and with her life packed into the back of her car, we headed to Port Angeles Washington to attend one of the coolest weddings I've ever been to. That area of Washington is amazing, and is definitely on my list of places to visit multiple times. We properly bummed around and helped prepare for the wedding, as Marayah was one of the bridesmaids. The wedding itself was amazing. After this Marayah and I said goodbye for the next year, as she in en route to intern with Younglife in Colorado for the next year, and I'm imminently headed back to Switzerland for the next span of time. October 2009, though.

I'll put up more pictures from the trip when they appear on the internet.

(Thanks Jody!)

Foreboding

2008-09-06T20:44:00.005-07:00

"War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength."

George Orwell, 1984

New Ink

2008-09-05T23:14:00.002-07:00

Jimmy started on my forearm piece today, and we are finishing it up on the 19th. It's looking epic.

Convalescence

2008-09-03T10:40:00.005-07:00

Living the dream in Oregon.

I have gotten to hang out with good friends, see good movies, eat good food, purchase snowboard gear for next season, and go to the Thrash and Burn tour in Portland.

Darkest Hour, who organized the tour, got completely douched by Portland's fickle hardcore scene crowd- half of them left before Darkest Hour started, and when they played, their awesome performance flew right over the heads of the remaining half that stayed. That didn't stop them from completely slaying though. The only other bands that really stood out were Misery Signals and Arsis- everything else was the same chugging, simplistic "brootal" riffs sloppily mashed together with the same old build ups, pit calls and break downs, and same old kids fighting. Most of the actual metal bands that were on the bill seemed to have dropped off the tour.

Also got to skate the Glenhaven skatepark, which is an awesome example of how versatile the guys at Dreamland Skateparks can be. Good vibes, cool people, and met a guy who had traveled to New Zealand and got to talk Kiwi with him.

Even picked up a girlfriend. Ha...

Centurion

2008-08-22T03:10:00.003-07:00

With this kind of stuff in mind, I am asking anyone coming to Davos for the DTS to consider bringing a telescoping shovel and helping to undermine the "order of things" here in Davos by way of creative DIY stunt-bump building. I have 13 spots and counting marked on a map of potential places to build and session some rad stuff. This is only on the resorts and not counting the city of Davos itself, which has plenty of possible spots to hit.

'What about the Jakobshorn funpark? Isn't it a "snowboarders Mekka?"', you say? I am sorry to dispel this myth, but the park builders in Davos could not build a hotwheels jump if their lives depended on it.

Sound like a plan?

Accord

2008-08-21T06:52:00.008-07:00

This November, one week after the DTS has started, Junius is playing in Davos, at Wallhalla, one of the few legitimate bars in town that just happens to be across the street from the YWAM base. I happened to instigate this event, and I am pretty excited to see them. Last time I saw them play was in early 2005.

Junius is one of those bands that is amazingly talented, imaginative, has a distinguished sound, and predictably, is grossly underrated and widely unknown. They will be coming out soon with their second full length The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist.

Success

2008-08-20T04:51:00.002-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 2008 YWAM Davos promo video.

EDIT: vaporized.

Antennas

2008-08-14T12:17:00.003-07:00

I have been working for a week and a half, not consecutively, on a new promo video for YWAM Davos. As soon as it is finished, checked and approved, it will be up for your viewing pleasure. Did not have a lot to work with, but we are going to make a point of picking up a camera and documenting more of what goes on with this next DTS.

In the mean time, check this cool movie out.

Another Turn

2008-08-05T08:14:00.004-07:00

I must say, it has been nice not being on the day-to-day schedule of a DTS. In the last week, I've taken a trip to Bern and checked out the city (beautiful), and gone down to Zurich to hang out for the day (beautiful as well). And all the other time has been spent on various projects- fliers, promo videos, informational videos, having a stand at the Davos closed-street Promenade (which can equate to 2 days worth of work into having a tent set up for 4 hours), and spending quality time with the locals.

Righteous.

Strobe Life

2008-07-27T10:26:00.006-07:00

The other day we determined that we needed to hike up one of the mountains overlooking Davos and camp up there. So Arnaud, Tabea S. and Tabea O. and I delegated stuff to bring, and made it happen yesterday. It was awesome. We were almost 9000 feet above sea level, and what seemed like right above Davos. Above tree level, it is a different world of soft grass, flowers, and nothing that bites, stings, or makes life suck. We slept under the open sky, and saw a handful of shooting stars. Righteous.

Yow!

2008-07-26T04:21:00.001-07:00

I just rolled an 'R' while speaking Swiss German- today is a good day indeed.

Cha cha

2008-07-10T00:53:00.002-07:00

I am back in Switzerland, and my computer should be back up and running in the next week or so. Most likely all the photos and videos I had on it for the last 7 months are toast. Thanks for understanding.

Vulture

2008-06-22T03:07:00.003-07:00

I miss skateboarding a lot. Sorry to say, there is no skateboarding in Thailand whatsoever. When I go back to Switzerland I'll be back in my element once again and there will be a lot more action such as above.

Undertow

2008-06-03T05:06:00.006-07:00

We are now in the next and final location of outreach, in a much more touristy location than anywhere we have previously been. There are sweaty sunburnt white people walking around, the prices for stuff is notably higher, and there are signs in bad English everywhere. Here we are helping teach German, painting, and working with Thai Bible study groups.

Last week my MacBook crashed with no startup disk to be found. This has happened to one other MacBook on the team, and we suspect it to be the haggard humidity in this country that is the cause of it. Or that Apple made a shoddy product, you can look it up in the Apple message boards to see how frequently this has been happening to people. I do have insurance for this kind of thing, but my registration is buried in a storage closet in Switzerland.

As a result, the photos and videos on here are going to be sparse for the next month or so.

Have You Passed Through This Night?

2008-05-12T07:21:00.007-07:00

It seems monsoon season has started earlier than normal this year. We are getting heavy, pounding downpours, lightning storms, and high winds. The upside to this is that it makes the temperature more bearable to my icy temperature-inclined body. The downside is that you go swimming when you go outside. But the sun does break at times, and we still get to go to the beach and stuff when the opportunity arises.

We have just finished working with the first ministry location of our outreach, and have moved 20 minutes south to a completely different social atmosphere. We are a stones throw away from the beach, and just outside our door are two boats that were washed ashore by the 2004 tsunami- one called the blue angel, because it damaged no property and hurt nobody, and the other called the red devil, which ran through houses and killed 100 people. If you look up Ban Chao Nam, Phangnga on Google Earth, you can see pictures of the boats in the photo points. They are pretty iconic here, I guess.

This area is filled with fishing tribes who used to live on the islands, and then moved inland after the tsunami. There is also a high concentration of Burmese refugees who have left the sheisty fascist government who treats their people like crap (which is especially being displayed in the news right now in the wake of the cyclone that hit Burma), and are now living in this oddball community. This area isn't far off the beaten path, but feels so far removed from "normal" Thailand at the same time.

Holy Diver

2008-05-07T02:39:00.000-07:00

Pretty self-explanatory.

To the Wind

2008-04-26T00:42:00.007-07:00

I am now in Thailand. It has been almost exactly a year and a half since my first outreach. I like to pay attention to these things, how the dates in life line up.

We were in Bangkok for 2 days, and I loved it. Muggy, filthy air, hot and humid, trash and dirtyness everywhere, and such good times. Upon arriving, we rode in the backs of trucks, whisked away to the YWAM Bangkok base. This was enjoyable, hanging onto the bar canopy of the truck, taking in the open air as they weaved through traffic in the lawless but sensible manner of non-western driving.

The YWAM base in Bangkok is awesome- a concrete building, very compact, right in the midst of a neighborhood community, with a university just down the road- with around 100,000 students. They make a very real outreach to their community, accommodated us amazingly, and helped organize our entire outreach to a T. YWAM Thailand rules.

On the first night, there was a heat storm, with silent lightning illuminating the sky. About an hour later, a downpour began. Amazing rain that comes down all at once, and within a few hours, is gone.

The next day we went on a temple tour, seeing a few of the major Buddhist temples in the city. Taking busses, trains, boats, and taxi, we saw the iconic places of Buddhist worship. The structures are amazing and there is a ton of attention to detail. Lots of taking shoes off, monks in the orange robes, and statues of Buddha among deities in their religion.

On the overnight bus down to the Khao Lak area, I listened to Neurosis, had crazy dreams and as per usual on the bus, crappy sleep. My overhead fan decided it would be fun to leak water from the air conditioning on to me. The conductor came and looked at this, and offered a "ha ha ha". I hadn't laughed that hard in a while. So Samu and I took chewing gum and tried to seal this leak up- but it ended up only working for limited amounts of time, as the seal would break and I would start getting pissed on again. Luckily I had a blanket to shelter myself with.

Now we are in the southern region of Thailand, working in a community that was displaced by the tsunami in 2004. It's been a great time. We are doing grunt-construction work, playing with kids, and just living with people. Most importantly, we saw a girl in the neighborhood with a pet monkey.

What the Thunder Said

2008-04-19T07:04:00.003-07:00

I put in my final day of riding for the season today. My total number of days spent riding (anything from an hour to all day), is around 70. Not too shabby, as my second biggest season was about 25 days when I was 14. I love season passes, I got about 6 times the value out of it this year.

We leave for Thailand tomorrow. I've already said "goodbye, see you this summer" to a few people here in town- we've made quite a few friends here who have been jaded by the "church culture", and although as a YWAM base we are in no way, shape or form trying to be an upstart to the churches here, that's kind of what has happened, as people seemed to have found a deeper sense of community with us. To be fair, we are all the church, and I would hope this is seen as more complimentary than competitive with our local congregations. Like the quote goes, Jesus is coming back for His bride (the church), not a harem. So we might as well get along.

To be sure, I will miss my new "other family" in Davos, but the next 3 months will fly by. And the next thing we know, we will be back here debriefing and skateboarding in the Swiss alpine sun. Here's to you, Davos. It has been good.

Violet Hour

2008-04-16T08:47:00.003-07:00

So I just heard that the Christian people we are working with in Thailand don't allow us to wear heavy metal t-shirts- which is basically 80 percent of my wardrobe. Oh well. The world is not yet ready to realize how awesome heavy metal truly is, and I'm OK with that- no heart is too hard for God to give revelation to.

Sleep Now

2008-04-08T12:03:00.003-07:00

Hey! Our outreach trip is getting closer and closer! Let me tell you a few things about Thailand...

They have the worlds best food. I know many other countries will make that same claim, but I place my overruling authority on the statement that Thai food kicks all others to the curb. Not only that, but in Thailand it's usually around one US dollar for a substantial legitimate meal.

In Thailand, you get to say "crap" in your greetings to people if you're a guy. So I can go up to somebody and say "Sawhatee khrap!"* and to you it might read like a dirty barnyard joke, but to the Thais this is how a dude says "hello". Girls say "Suwhatee ka". They miss out on the fun.

Apparently where I am going will be really close to the equator, and it will be pretty hot. What's good is that it's on the beach, but what's bad is that people generally take 2-3 showers a day due to the sweat factor, and they have a pretty high standard for personal cleanliness. Which sucks because ideally I like to take 2-3 showers a week.

*The "R" in "khrap" is almost silent, rendering the word as more of a "khap" sound.

Absolute Future

2008-04-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

We have 2 weeks until outreach to Thailand. It's still snowing ridiculous amounts, I had my first "deep" powder day in a really long time on Thursday. Possibly years.

Tomorrow we go to the Jakobshorn terrain park to shoot photos of people, make them look good, and offer to sell them to people. This is all done in hopes of raising money for outreach, as we are a bit short on money for everyone. I'm hoping that it works out, because the idea on paper looks pretty ridiculous. But we are going for it anyway.

This week we have Dan Bauman coming to speak at our school. This guy is a pretty wild missionary, and a few years back he was imprisoned in Iran for 3 months. Super intense story, and his speech sounds like Frank from the Professor Brothers, which is a huge plus in my book.

Ice Breakers

2008-03-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

This is what we do during our quality time as guys.

Feet on the Ground

2008-03-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Reto, Caleb and I decided to film some mini shredd at Jakobshorn. Pretty fun.

Trashing Days

2008-03-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I went from washing dishes, to having an epic session of riding my snowboard, to reciting a God poem in a bar full of German out-of-towners, to preaching a word about Jesus' rise from death in front of a Methodist church on Resurrection Sunday.

It's still snowing, and is colder than it was in February. It actually looks like how it was supposed to be in winter, where the roads are covered up and everything takes on a white shroud from the snow and ice.

I had one of the best times snowboarding in a long time this last weekend, riding with my neighbors, through a hybrid of powder, natural terrain and park stuff. We had an unexpected break from the snow and instead had bluebird skies and cold temperatures for half the day- it was FANTASTIC.

But I still miss getting to snowboard the great Northwest. Places like Mt Hood where the natural terrain is a kick in the pants itself, and the people who build park stuff, really know how to build park stuff. Davos just doesn't bring it in that area. And then you look at their website and they call themselves a "snowboarders mecca" with a "world class terrain park"... what?

It's time

2008-03-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

I think for the 07/08 season it has snowed more in Davos in the late fall and early spring than it did the entire winter.