February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mardi Gras: Too Little, Too Late
"We lost," says Mike Evans, a Ski School coworker of mine, in passing this afternoon.
"Lost what?" I reply.
"The Mardi Gras King and Queen thing..." Huh? I was nominated for Queen? I thought he was joking. But sure enough, I got my hands on the paper, and there was the purple quarter page color ad in the Vail Daily announcing that some gal from Ski School named "Juliana" (misspelled with 2 n's, mind you) was up for Carnival Queen. Oh, I guess that's me!
Yes, Mike Evans and I were up for the title of CarniVail King & Queen this year. Bummer they were keeping it a secret. We could have given it a fighting chance!
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20090220/NEWS/902209917&parentprofile=search
"Lost what?" I reply.
"The Mardi Gras King and Queen thing..." Huh? I was nominated for Queen? I thought he was joking. But sure enough, I got my hands on the paper, and there was the purple quarter page color ad in the Vail Daily announcing that some gal from Ski School named "Juliana" (misspelled with 2 n's, mind you) was up for Carnival Queen. Oh, I guess that's me!
Yes, Mike Evans and I were up for the title of CarniVail King & Queen this year. Bummer they were keeping it a secret. We could have given it a fighting chance!
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20090220/NEWS/902209917&parentprofile=search
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Special to Metromix: Mardi Gras: Miles above the Rest
Special to Metromix: Mardi Gras: Miles above the rest, celebrate Carnival at these ski resorts
By Juliana Broste
Special to Metromix
Originally published on Metromix.com on January 26, 2009
Before you give it up for Lent this year, go wild and go West for a little Mardi Gras madness. Colorado is home to some world-class ski and snowboard destinations, and they’re also hotspots for entertainment. This year’s Mardi Gras season delivers live music, street parties, and parades miles above the rest. Why not hit the slopes and then descend into a village block party? Be sure to add a bit of flare to your favorite ski outfit—a purple wig or feather boa should do the trick. Flaunt your beads and feast on New Orleans gumbo and crawfish—mmm mmm finger-lickin’ good. Then, get ready to dance the night away. If you’re looking for a grand old time, these ski towns take Mardi Gras to a whole new level.
Click here for the full story:
http://denver.metromix.com/events/photogallery/mardi-gras-in-the/979314/content
By Juliana Broste
Special to Metromix
Originally published on Metromix.com on January 26, 2009
Before you give it up for Lent this year, go wild and go West for a little Mardi Gras madness. Colorado is home to some world-class ski and snowboard destinations, and they’re also hotspots for entertainment. This year’s Mardi Gras season delivers live music, street parties, and parades miles above the rest. Why not hit the slopes and then descend into a village block party? Be sure to add a bit of flare to your favorite ski outfit—a purple wig or feather boa should do the trick. Flaunt your beads and feast on New Orleans gumbo and crawfish—mmm mmm finger-lickin’ good. Then, get ready to dance the night away. If you’re looking for a grand old time, these ski towns take Mardi Gras to a whole new level.
Click here for the full story:
http://denver.metromix.com/events/photogallery/mardi-gras-in-the/979314/content
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Suds Up!
This evening, I went to the monthly Street Beat concert in Vail Village, following a regular visit to Mez. The concert was rockin', though I was in a hurry to go home—I was in the mood to do some writing. I have another deadline in a few days, gotta get crackin’. I know my blog has suffered due to the recent attention to my new freelance gig with Metromix / 9News. Sorry. Plus, being comfortable here in Vail is no catalyst for creativity. Need to keep the juices flowin’…
So, I come home to find my new roommate Shirly, from China, parked over a tower of dishes stacked in the sink. This is unusual. I mean, I’ve only known her a few days now, but have never seen her doing dishes. Well, she cooks a lot ("she cooks chicken double times"). So, I assumed she was cooking, until I realized the rolling dishwasher rack was on the kitchen counter. Shirly was having a breakdown. She was so overwhelmed in our humble little kitchen because the dishwasher had just exploded with bubbles! Bubbles on the floor. Bubbles squirting out of the dishwasher door. And Shirly, quickly moving back and forth from the sink to the dishwasher, desperately trying to sop up the bubbles.
And then there’s me, standing in my puffy pink coat, just frozen at the door. Instantly, I knew what had happened: She put the wrong soap in the dishwasher. I have seen this on an episode of the Brady Bunch before. For about a half second, I had once thought about holding a 'dishwasher training,' but sure enough that thought disappeared as quickly as it came. Live and learn! I naturally reached my camera and let out the hugest cackle. “Shirly! You’re so cute!” I’m so glad I came home.
Times like these, I don’t know why, but I really do enjoy them. I didn’t get angry. Instead, I was so pleased to see a potentially boring night become a memorable one; one my roomates and I can laugh about for ages. Sure, it kinda sucked taking turns kneeling by the dishwasher, awkwardly reaching in to mop up rag-fulls of sudsy water, depositing the liquid into a dish, and shuttling that back to the sink…but how many people could say they’ve had a foam party in their kitchen?
Shirly is awesome. She’s straight out of China, and is super cool to let me write about her and post her pic. She’s never had nachos, or an avocado, and I can't wait to dish it up. She's never been to America before, though she is completing an Hotel Management degree in Holland. Shirly is replacing our last roommate from Uruguay, Ana, who was replacing our top choice BFF roomate from Australia (Miss you, Kylie!). Ana was escaping from a recent breakup with her boyfriend. Anna only lasted two weeks, cause she couldn’t sleep on the plastic mattress—and who could blame her. She obviously never slept in a college dorm because just hadn’t discovered foam egg shells. Anyways, when I met Ana, she had already been living in Vail for 2 ½ years, which is a whole lot different than someone like Shirly, who has just arrived here for the first time and doesn't know a single soul. Shirly misses China. Something about Shirly makes me want to take her under my wing and help her come to love America. ☺
Shirly loves my animated facial expressions. I can’t figure out if I’m just particularly animated in the facial region, or if it’s more of a cultural American thing I do. I lift my eyebrows when I’m surprised. I lift one eyebrow when I’m confused. I scrunch my eyebrows when I’m thinking hard. She giggles and giggles when I repeat these poses. It’s awesome. It reminds me of the time Son, one of my TOEFL students in South Korea, once raised his hand in the middle of a lesson to ask me, “Teacher, will you teach us how to … with your face?” gesturing at his face. He wanted to learn how to make facial expressions, and the other kids chimed in, too. So we spent the whole rest of the day making our eyebrows dance, our eyes squint, and our lips purse. Thank you Shirly, for reminding me of that.
So, I come home to find my new roommate Shirly, from China, parked over a tower of dishes stacked in the sink. This is unusual. I mean, I’ve only known her a few days now, but have never seen her doing dishes. Well, she cooks a lot ("she cooks chicken double times"). So, I assumed she was cooking, until I realized the rolling dishwasher rack was on the kitchen counter. Shirly was having a breakdown. She was so overwhelmed in our humble little kitchen because the dishwasher had just exploded with bubbles! Bubbles on the floor. Bubbles squirting out of the dishwasher door. And Shirly, quickly moving back and forth from the sink to the dishwasher, desperately trying to sop up the bubbles.
And then there’s me, standing in my puffy pink coat, just frozen at the door. Instantly, I knew what had happened: She put the wrong soap in the dishwasher. I have seen this on an episode of the Brady Bunch before. For about a half second, I had once thought about holding a 'dishwasher training,' but sure enough that thought disappeared as quickly as it came. Live and learn! I naturally reached my camera and let out the hugest cackle. “Shirly! You’re so cute!” I’m so glad I came home.Times like these, I don’t know why, but I really do enjoy them. I didn’t get angry. Instead, I was so pleased to see a potentially boring night become a memorable one; one my roomates and I can laugh about for ages. Sure, it kinda sucked taking turns kneeling by the dishwasher, awkwardly reaching in to mop up rag-fulls of sudsy water, depositing the liquid into a dish, and shuttling that back to the sink…but how many people could say they’ve had a foam party in their kitchen?
Shirly is awesome. She’s straight out of China, and is super cool to let me write about her and post her pic. She’s never had nachos, or an avocado, and I can't wait to dish it up. She's never been to America before, though she is completing an Hotel Management degree in Holland. Shirly is replacing our last roommate from Uruguay, Ana, who was replacing our top choice BFF roomate from Australia (Miss you, Kylie!). Ana was escaping from a recent breakup with her boyfriend. Anna only lasted two weeks, cause she couldn’t sleep on the plastic mattress—and who could blame her. She obviously never slept in a college dorm because just hadn’t discovered foam egg shells. Anyways, when I met Ana, she had already been living in Vail for 2 ½ years, which is a whole lot different than someone like Shirly, who has just arrived here for the first time and doesn't know a single soul. Shirly misses China. Something about Shirly makes me want to take her under my wing and help her come to love America. ☺
Shirly loves my animated facial expressions. I can’t figure out if I’m just particularly animated in the facial region, or if it’s more of a cultural American thing I do. I lift my eyebrows when I’m surprised. I lift one eyebrow when I’m confused. I scrunch my eyebrows when I’m thinking hard. She giggles and giggles when I repeat these poses. It’s awesome. It reminds me of the time Son, one of my TOEFL students in South Korea, once raised his hand in the middle of a lesson to ask me, “Teacher, will you teach us how to … with your face?” gesturing at his face. He wanted to learn how to make facial expressions, and the other kids chimed in, too. So we spent the whole rest of the day making our eyebrows dance, our eyes squint, and our lips purse. Thank you Shirly, for reminding me of that.
The Usual
It’s the little things that make you happy when you are traveling: getting on the right bus, having a friendly conversation with a stranger, or learning a new word in a foreign language (“mina olen cow hi yo elda” = I’m from Kauhajoki (city in Finland)). When you’re home, it’s much harder to feel pleased after small successes like these. Instead of feeling pumped about these little surprises, you begin to have expectations and feel angry when things happen less than perfectly: Fuck. I missed the bus. Who is this weirdo trying to start up a conversation with me? Why does she always call it “loo roll”?
Today, I almost felt as if I had forgotten how to blog. Being here in a comfortable place is dangerous. You have to start working 100 times harder to get a good story. When you are traveling, everything, and I mean everything is inspiring: a picturesque sunset, a bustling market, a wretched smell, an expression on a child's face. When you are living your real life, it takes a lot more to get inspired.
I mean, work is work.
Snowboarding is snowboarding.
Parties are parties.
Good times, for sure...but are they newsworthy?
Take Mezaluna, for example. It’s the usual après hangout for me and my fellow adult ski and snowboard instructor friends. I know there are a lot more interesting things going on in Vail, because, well, it’s Vail. There's always something to do in Vail. But, I can’t ignore my loyalty to Mez. It's the place I go to after work. It’s my “Cheers” bar: “the place where everybody knows your name…” Everyone unofficially meets there after the lifts close. Jodi, the bartender, is awesome and takes good care of his regulars. He knows my ‘usual’; Either a $3 Corona or a top shelf Gin & Tonic (code for: giant glass of water with a lemon). I’m a local.
It's time well spent swapping stories and having conversations with coworkers and friends. We can giggle about the time the crappy snowboarder came hauling across the skiier bridge screaming "On your left!!!" to an accelerating snowmobile; and the time Jayne got tripped by her student, falling on his skiis, and had to get stitches in her butt.
In honor of our loyalty, our hard-core crew has covertly started signing our names underneath the bar...
So even if we’re not there, we’re there in spirit.
Maybe it's not newsworthy, but it's worth a blog, to say the least...
Today, I almost felt as if I had forgotten how to blog. Being here in a comfortable place is dangerous. You have to start working 100 times harder to get a good story. When you are traveling, everything, and I mean everything is inspiring: a picturesque sunset, a bustling market, a wretched smell, an expression on a child's face. When you are living your real life, it takes a lot more to get inspired.
I mean, work is work.
Snowboarding is snowboarding.
Parties are parties.
Good times, for sure...but are they newsworthy?
Take Mezaluna, for example. It’s the usual après hangout for me and my fellow adult ski and snowboard instructor friends. I know there are a lot more interesting things going on in Vail, because, well, it’s Vail. There's always something to do in Vail. But, I can’t ignore my loyalty to Mez. It's the place I go to after work. It’s my “Cheers” bar: “the place where everybody knows your name…” Everyone unofficially meets there after the lifts close. Jodi, the bartender, is awesome and takes good care of his regulars. He knows my ‘usual’; Either a $3 Corona or a top shelf Gin & Tonic (code for: giant glass of water with a lemon). I’m a local.
It's time well spent swapping stories and having conversations with coworkers and friends. We can giggle about the time the crappy snowboarder came hauling across the skiier bridge screaming "On your left!!!" to an accelerating snowmobile; and the time Jayne got tripped by her student, falling on his skiis, and had to get stitches in her butt.
In honor of our loyalty, our hard-core crew has covertly started signing our names underneath the bar...
So even if we’re not there, we’re there in spirit.
Maybe it's not newsworthy, but it's worth a blog, to say the least...
Monday, February 09, 2009
Mom & Dad love Vail (too)
Mom and dad had no idea what they were getting themselves into when I invited them to come stay a night in Vail...
They got pimped out at the fancy-schmancy Arrabelle hotel in the center of Lionshead,
followed by a friendly hello from all my friends at Mez.
Then we took a little trip up the gondi at sunset,
and took a ride on the wild side.
(lean, mean, tubing machienes)
Then we stopped by the Chophouse for a little Surf & Turf,
waking up to breakfast at the French Deli,
and a freshly groomed mountain tour (follow the cats!)
They got pimped out at the fancy-schmancy Arrabelle hotel in the center of Lionshead,
followed by a friendly hello from all my friends at Mez.
Then we took a little trip up the gondi at sunset,
and took a ride on the wild side.
(lean, mean, tubing machienes)
Then we stopped by the Chophouse for a little Surf & Turf,
waking up to breakfast at the French Deli,
and a freshly groomed mountain tour (follow the cats!)
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