What do you want to know?

This coming Wednesday I will have the opportunity to interview a few Dew Tour athletes. Seeing as the interviews will end up on here I thought it would be fun if you (yes YOU) suggested questions. If there's anything you've been dying to ask a professional athlete let me know! Just leave a comment or e-mail me at bthoman@mail.coloradomtn.edu and I'll be sure to pose the question throughout the interviews!

Free At Last!

Yesterday I finished my final essay of the semester so I am officially free of school for a month. Although I enjoyed all of my classes I am happy to be on break. However, it seems as though the chaos never stops and this winter break will be very busy.... which is a good thing. What's the point in living if you're not living each moment up to your full potential? Over the next month I have the following things planned....

Dew Tour- The college has offered me a unique opportunity to work at the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge. To put it lightly I am beyond stoked. Wednesday we'll be able to interview athletes and for the rest of the competition we'll be manning the CMC booth and enjoying the games. It'll be a great experience and I couldn't be more excited about it!

Hot Springs- This semster has been pretty stressful and I found the best way to relieve that stress is through my favorite high school sport, swimming. Unfortunately there's only one lap pool in town and a membership there is rather expensive. Luckily they offer a unique volunteer program where you can trade work hours for a free membership. I talked to the man in charge last night and it looks like I'm in! Free membership here I come!

Carribean Cruise- So far I've been pretty out of the loop on this one. My family decided we'd go on a cruise in January instead of trying to fly everyone to Colorado or me home for Christmas. Although it'll be a bit delayed and there won't be any snow for Santa's sleigh, it looks like Christmas will be in somewhere in the Carribean this year. Originally we were going to go to Alaska but that fell through. I couldn't even tell you what time my flight leaves or which islands we'll be visiting which makes it a bit more of an adventure.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff- You may or may not have realized it but I'm a complete book nerd. If this wasn't proven true through the countless books I burned through over the summer you can take last night into account. I took a few of my textbooks to the bookstore and somehow managed to make more then I spent at the beginning of the semester which was awesome. But my new found wealth didn't last long. After finishing my essay I took a trip to Off The Beaten Path which is a great bookstore off of 9th street. They didn't have the book I wanted in stock and since it's a two week back order I simply had to pick something up. The gentleman taking care of me suggested Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore. I just started it but so far it's really funny, and a great way to finish up a semester that included countless religious based conversations.

Those are just a few of my adventures planned for winter break. Hope everyone enjoys their time off!

Update

I apologize for the lack of blogs lately, but finals have been keeping me very, very busy. This week has been all about finding ethical solutions to the Terri Schavio case, figuring out the motives behind the Taliban, understanding the stages of grief and exploring the outer most planets of our solar system. This week it feels like I'm out to solve the world's problems. Next week I'll be just another ski bum livin' la vida loca in Steamboat. Gota love college. Every time I look at the calendar a bit of panic strikes as I realize Christmas is creeping up on me at an incredibly fast pace. I have yet to buy any presents... or decorations for that matter. Suddenly the Dew Tour is next week and my cruise that seemed so far away will be here in the blink of an eye. This is just an update to let everyone know I'm alive! I promise to bring something more exciting to the table once finals are over. Until then, good luck everyone!

Thanksgiving Blues

A little over a year ago I moved out here on my own. I didn't know a single person in this town and had no idea what to expect. Living far away from home can be difficult, especially during the holiday season. I have a huge family and every time my mom talks about a new baby or wedding coming up I can't help but feel like I'm missing out by not being there. These are the functions I used to despise but now miss more than anything. If you are at school for Thanksgiving and feel a little homesick here are some ways I like to kiss the blues goodbye...

Sleeping In- When I lived at home my mom had one rule about "sleeping in". We had to be up be 11 because by that point enough of the day was already wasted. I still find it difficult to break that rule even though my mom is 1500 miles away. Although I agree with her philosophy I sometimes let myself sleep in until noon and feel a little mischievous knowing that I have broken one of the rules I both loved and hated back home.

Care Packages- There is absolutely nothing more exciting than going home to find a care package on my front door step. Every time I take a bite of my dad's homemade salsa I am reminded of the countless concoctions we were forced to try as he perfected his recipe. Nothing says "we miss you" like sending a little piece of New York to Colorado.

Imitating Mom's Home Cooking- When I create a meal my parents once made for me on a regular basis I can't help but feel at home. The familiar tastes bring back memories of our hilarious dinner conversations. Plus it's fun sharing recipes with friends and seeing if they enjoy them.

Pictures- Our apartment is loaded with pictures. I recently put up about 30 of my favorite memories above my dresser. It's nice to step back, look at each of them and laugh at the good times they represent.

Try New Things- I came out here for a change of pace. I was tired of living in the city and wanted to explore the ski town lifestyle. Every time I have the opportunity to try something new I try to embrace it. It's a constant reminder of why I came out here- to grow as a person and keep learning more.

Facebook- It's not just for college kids anymore. My mom came from a family of 11 so I have plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins to keep track of. Thankfully, many of them are signed up. I can't make daily phone calls to everyone so it's a great way to stay in touch. In fact, it puts me ahead of the game as I often find out big news (babies, engagements, etc) before my gossip queen mom.

Frequent Phone Calls- Thankfully my parents are there to answer phone calls almost 24/7. This may mean 2am when I forget that there's a time difference or 6am when my dad is up way too early working. Talking to family and friends back home always cheers me up because I am reminded of how little distance really matters.

Hypnotist Frederick Winters

On Tuesday night Student Activities brought Frederick Winters, a comedian/ hypnotist to Colorado Mountain College for entertainment. It was a packed house and everyone was laughing hysterically as he convinced volunteer students to sing, dance and make complete fools of themselves on stage.

At this point Frederick convinced everyone they were on a roller coaster


Here they are as senior citizens dancing


These gentlemen were lead to believe they could sing opera


Apparently he is a strongman competitor


Overall it was an incredible entertaining night! Upcoming student activities include a trip to the trampoline gym for only $3 on Tuesday December 1st and a Coffee Night at the Steaming Bean on the 2nd.

Pre- Registration

Pre-registration officially ends this week and I signed up for a few too many classes so I have some decisions to make. As of right now I'm taking the following classes:

Fundamentals of Report Writing (3 credits). I don't know if I could see myself running a weekly column for some ritzy newspaper but I definitely enjoy writing. The only problem is I have absolutely no experience other than this blog. I'm thinking about taking this class because it teaches the basics of journalism and interviewing. It would be a great way to see how interested I actually am in the field.

River Orientation (2 credits). From what I've heard this is a really fun class that gives you the opportunity to hit up some gnarly rapids. Unfortunately I think I'm going to drop this class because I'm already going to Guatemala and taking countless other mini trips next semester and my boss is too kind with my work schedule as it is.

Tai Chi (1 credit). Okay, so meditation is not really my thing-- scratch that, working out is not my thing period. The only time I really enjoy exercise is when I'm swimming laps or cruisng around the mountain. I opted to take fly-fishing this semester so I could go camping, get a Phys Ed credit and learn something new in the process. However I've decided to give Tai Chi a chance as I've heard it's a phenomenal class from everyone I've talked to.

Work Experience (3 credits). So this was the class that ultimately inspired me to go to Vegas last year. Unfortunately I failed to get any more hours of work experience and had to withdraw from the class. I'm going to attempt another round, hoping that I can make it to SIA in Denver as well as a couple of on snow demos.

Intro to PC Applications (3 credits). For some reason this class is a requirement for both my Associates of Arts and Ski Business degrees. I don't understand why it's necessary this far in the game. Having been raised with a computer in the house since Commodores came out, I am very familiar with Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, Excel, Photo Shop and so on. I just installed Adobe Premiere Elements which is a video editing program. As of right now I am struggling with how to use it (thus the reason I have yet to post video) but I'm sure with all the online tutorials there are out there I'll be able to figure it out. I just don't see what this class is going to offer me other than an excuse not to go out due to a homework overload.

Current Political Issues/ Culture Studies (6 credits). This is the Guatemala class I blogged about a month or so ago. I could not be more thrilled about taking it!

Philosophy of Religion (3 credits). I loved taking philosophy and ethics and I just can't get enough. I feel like my mind has expanded so much and I'm gaining a greater understanding of the way the world works. Unfortunately, this class is at a very inconvenient time in reguards to my schedule next semester, but I think I'm going to tough it out and stay in the class.

So there it is. The 21 credit schedule I created for next semester. The funny thing is I convinced my parents that 12 would be plenty during the season, but there are too many classes that I want to take. If you haven't preregistered be sure to before Friday!

Stuck

Two nights ago I went to bed listening to the sound of rain lightly tapping on the roof and woke up to a majestic winter wonderland. Somewhere through the night the God of Snow decided to bless this little town with that powdery white stuff that makes everyone smile a little brighter and opening day seem that much closer. If you know what I'm describing you know exactly how I felt waking up yesterday morning. Unfortunately that ecstatic feeling quickly wore off as I began to wish I had listened to my gut telling me to get snow tires put on my car. Instead I procrastinated because my schedule was just too busy and I didn't really want to spend the money.

When I went outside to see if my car would made it I rejoiced once again because the snow was wet and heavy which meant I should make it just fine. As I drove to work I couldn't help but smile at the beauty of the town. Somehow all of the stresses from the day before had disappeared and everything seemed to be okay. Work was a little busier than normal and most people were cheery even before they got their coffee.

After work I went to pick up Cali for the weekend. The snowflakes were huge and falling fast but I prayed my little car with summer tires would make it out of my friend's development. As I slid around the corner I was thankful that I lived in Buffalo and had a lot of experience driving in such terrible conditions, but as I began my descent up the hill to the main road my car got stuck. There was nothing I could have done. The snow was simply too deep and the tires had no tread to dig through it. Some very friendly neighbors came out and tried to help me but there was no hope. I'd simply have to wait for the snow to calm down and for the plows to come. We attempted to park my car but even that was difficult. The snow that had fallen in the half hour or so made navigating around their small development nearly impossible.

Since my friend who lived there was in Copper ski training I called up everyone I knew with a car to see if they could come pick me up but they were all working or out of town. Finally my friend Mike agreed because he had to go to work and I was only slightly out of his way. Once I got home I began brainstorming. Should I leave my car there for the night or should I figure out a way to get it to a shop and have tires put on? Since I had the dog and couldn't take the bus, getting my car to the shop seemed like the only reasonable solution. I decided to call my friend Ian who grew up in Steamboat, loved cars, and lived only a few seconds down the road. Luckily he had a few hours to spare before he had to work. I'm sure I looked like a complete amateur standing there as he drove my car as far up the hill as it would go and then latched it to a tow rope. At that point it was pretty easy to get it onto a main road, and from there Ian lead to me the only car center in town that was able to put my tires on. I got lucky, most places said it would be a few days but Doc's auto took care of me in just a couple of hours and they were really friendly and affordable.

I've definitely learned my lesson. The scary part about having a car out here is not having my dad to come bail me out when I get myself into trouble. I am fortunate to have great friends who are willing to help and friendly neighbors that will lend a hand. If you haven't put you snow tires on yet be sure to do it soon because it doesn't look like this snow is going to stop. If your car is good to go I hope you are enjoying the beautiful winter weather we've all been waiting for!