It was paradise...

I can't believe the luck we had last weekend down in Montana. It's the best weather I think I've ever seen down there. 30-35 degrees, no wind or clouds. So we didn't get out on the sailboat too much but we did put in about 6 hours of wakeboarding everyday.



Dan learns to board behind a real boat.

This is Dan's second time on a wakeboard. The first time was at Wabamun two years ago behind our small 9.9 horse power boat. I can't believe he got up then, probably the only one that could.



Air Dave. That's-why-he-likes-sailing!

Dave would sure give'er. Smoked himself good a couple times in the process. You can see just how calm and perfect the water was down there. I was too spoiled. If it's anything less than this next time I'm going to be dissappointed.

Time for some sequence shots.





Yeah...this one hurt.

It ended up being more of a one-and-a-half flip. I've never seen my flips on camera before though. We have video too which is much better. I know a couple little things that I'll have to do next time to increase my chances of landing. Whether I can actually do them...we'll see September long.






I finally (almost) landed a 360.

Usually I'm not even close but this time I landed right, handle in the hand. I just didn't prepare for the snap of the rope. When you wrap it around you there's a lot of slack after the spin...next time...next time.





....well...an E for effort!

Luke's getting in to the tricks too. He actually improving very quickly. I remember being at that stage too and it wasn't that long ago.



Nevin is super excited to be here.

I wish we had some pictures of him slalom skiing with no hands. He actually held the handle with his foot. Very cool.



Looks good without the landing.

The nice thing about still pictures is they DON'T show the whole action. In this case the take off looked great, the flip is cool, the landing (crash and burn) was awkward and apparently very funny. So I just chose to censor it a bit.

Anyway, can't say much more now. Too busy at work. We had such a great weekend down there that we decided we have to go back for September long weekend. I have to some how get my stuff moved up to Edmonton before then but I'm positive it's going to be great.

We have lots of video of the weekend too...just don't have the capacity to show you here. Have to ask me at home.

Another weekend in paradise...

I wonder how many people would actually think of Montana as paradise? I doubt many would choose that over Hawaii or Mexico, I probably wouldn't either, but those that have been there know that it's a close second. You don't often get to spend a weekend in water that clear that doesn't induce hypothermia. Banff is the only other place I've seen water like it.

I'm leaving at 3:30 today from work so I can get home and get on the road. Normally that would be cutting out of work early, but since the end of July I've been showing up at work at 6:30 AM and my body is slowly figuring it out. Luke and Ben are coming down tonight too but can't get away until 4:30. 7:00 AM is just too early for them I guess. I really like the early mornings now. There is no one on the bus so I get my own seat and it actually gets downtown quicker. Even if I live somewhere that I have drive to work I'm still coming at this time. It'd be so quick to get downtown. That plus for a majority of the year you see the sun rise. It'll be rough in the dead of winter but it's amazing during the summer.

Yo no hablo espanol...at least not yet. I'm considering taking Spanish 111 this year at school. It's a 3 credit fall class that I hope I can take in place of my crappy Classics course. Instead of 3 hours a week it's 5 hours. 1 hour Monday and Wednesday and 1.5 hours on Tuesday and Thursday. It seems like a lot but I really want to learn it. This is my last year so I should try to concentrate on the important classes. How much practice is it going to take? I guess I'd rather be under pressure learning Spanish than having an essay on Ancient Greek Technology. So...first step is to ask my student advisor, second step is to enrole...easy. I'm going to get a start early too. Nevin is downloading a couple spanish programs for me for my Ipod.

I've also been looking into DVD camcorders lately. I don't know why, I don't plan on getting one. I just don't have the money right now. What I'd like to have is a $900 Sony DVD video camera and a $600 video editing program. I could have a lot of fun with that. Wakeboarding videos, snowboarding videos, trips, friends, sports.

Speaking of sports, we're gearing up for another great season of Ultimate Frisbee at the U of A. Our team, The 12" Discs, is finally investing in some uniforms (aka cheap t-shirts). They're going to have nicknames and numbers on the back and, most importantly, a logo on the front. Lucas designed an awesome one this week. He's going to keep working on it for a couple days, my friend Tomoki might help out a bit. Next week we should be placing the orders if everyone can decide on their names. Once the logo is finalized I'll post the image. It's already super funny, and should only get better.

Mike out!

Yawn...

Sleeping is on my mind. Last night Nevin, Lucas and I rejoined our old softball team for one game. So, out late, still at work at 6:30...brutal. We got worked over last night though. In one inning we didn't even get one of their runners out. They just quickly got the maximum 7 runs and it was our turn. I struck out my first at bat, pretty embarassing, but at least I made it around the bases everytime after that. Actually, I kind of had the winning run since it was the last one of the game. Well, not winning, I think the score was more like 25-6, but it was a game-ender. As I crossed home I heard what I thought was the back catcher catching the ball about a half second late. She did catch it, just not with her glove, tried to use her teeth instead. Both benches were on their feet right away to see if she was alright. Lots of blood, definitely needed stitches. The guy that thew the ball in from second was pretty shaken up, felt bad for him. Kind of killed the mood (we were still happy, even if we were getting beat).

So to help us forget it all we went to the BP's nearby and stuffed ourselves with pasta and beer. I wasn't driving, drank more than I should have, and had to go straight to bed when I got home. Getting up this morning sucked. I don't have the headache, sore muscles, or any of that stuff but my stomach just will not stop bubbling. Skipping the gym at lunch was a good idea.

So, for tonight? I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably stay late to finish my project here. Maybe go to the gym if my stomach settles down. Maybe rent a movie. I know it's very suspenseful and all, I'll make sure to let you know how it goes.

The exciting conclusion....next time!

Crash-test cousins...

So I finally chilled last night after my hockey game (played with the Blades, won 6-3, two assists) and downloaded the Montana pictures off of my camera. The first weekend was definitely more intense, mainly due to my cousins' new tube. It's about 6' or 7' across and is the most stable thing I've every been pulled on behind a boat...that doesn't mean it won't flip.



Carly and Peter hang on for dear life.

Yeah, that tube can really throw you for a ride. It's so bouncy that when you do catch a wave properly, it compresses and then just unloads on the riders. It's pretty much impossible to stay on if you hit a wave with a lot of force. There's few better than Terry for setting those kind of waves up in the boat too.



That is a look that says "FEAR ME!"

Eventually I had to jump in the water and show Peter and Carly how it's done. Well, apparently I suck! We managed to stay on for the speed but everyone bailed when Terry brought on the pain.



Well...at least Peter fell off before me.



Peter is in the picture. He's that giant spray of water behind the tube.

When the sun came out later we went out for some more wakeboarding practice. This is proof I need a lot.



You'd think from my expressions I'm falling into a lake of fire.

Hey, at least I try. Peter was gettin' 'er done on the slalom ski. It's funny to watch him cut though. He'll turn really hard, throw up a wall of water, then quickly turn around to see what it looks like. We caught him in the act.



Sweeeeeeet...

I rarely get the chance to ski on such calm water. It's really a completely different experience than when you slalom on chop. You can really throw down the turns, take the wake at any speed, and it all feels like butter. I've been losing weight this summer but I still pack enough to throw up that huge wall.



Next up, doing it with one arm.

I got a chance to take the boat around the next day. Peter and Kelsi were at my mercy first.



Peter looks so surprised to be airborne.

Unfortunately the landing was much harder than the take off. Peter was done after this and had to lay down on the floor of the boat while I poured some water on his head. I don't think there was a concussion, guess he just landed the hard way. Kelsi wanted to keep going so Carly was her next riding partner.



Sailing the Hobie.

My dad did a lot of sailing down there this time. Most afternoons the wind would come up and be great for touring the lake. Here he's out with Terry, Halee, and her boyfriend, John.

So that was weekend one. I had to drive home Sunday night on my own so I could be back at work Monday. What a tough three days in the office. I had to get a bunch of my project finished off all the while thinking about what a great weekend I'd just had and looking forward to the next weekend. Jeff came down Wednesday night and we left early Thursday morning for the lake...but that story is for another time.

Augh...so busy...

I can't believe I let a whole week go by without writing something. I guess it's kind of comforting to know I'm not completely addicted to this thing. It's more that I know I have stories to tell but just no time right now. Jeff and I got home late Monday night from Montana and I had to be at the office at 6:30 the next morning. Went to the gym last night (finally), went out with the parents, and then finally had some free time in the evening. So what kind of constructive stuff did I do? Played frisbee with Kolla for an hour then watched "The Hostage". On any other day both would have been great decisions but last night there were many other things to get done. Right now it's taking me over two days just to get one load of laundry through the machines. My room is a mess but it's my desk that's crazy. I have to burn some pictures to take out to my uncle tomorrow (want to jump on their trampoline for wakeboarding practice), I'd like to get some pictures developed at Costco soon, look for a new apartment (looks like Windsor might now pan out for Nevin and I) and put in some overtime for this project. I like being busy but it's the stress that I hate. I have the ability to ignore that stress but after an hour of feeling good AND efficient my work ethic just drops so I need another shot of stress. Turning it on and off is messing with my system.

Anyway, I do have some great pictures from Montana (the lake and the airshow) that I'll probably take another couple days to publish. I have hockey tonight and now it looks like Nevin and I might go to Edmonton on Saturday to house hunt. Work=gay.

Here's a question that I could use some input on. Should I take EAS (basic geology, rocks, mountains...easy) or marketing (friends in the class...easy). Marketing just seems like a waste of time but I'm still reluctant to switch to EAS even though it'd be much better for my oil and gas career. Anyway, I'm finally done my boss's work so time for my project. Peace.