Welcome back to snowboard school

I kicked off the 2006-2007 ski/snowboard season like a true snowboarder bum: arriving with a carload of stuff, a few packets of ramen, and a friend's couch to crash on. Like every year, by opening day, I did not have a place to call my own. But still, the urge to lace up my boots and wax my snowboard called early (and so did the need to build a paycheck), so I was happy to suit up. By 9:30am on November 17th, I was happy to be standing in a circle among old friends, sharing highlights from our summers, and excitement about the upcoming winter season.

Greg was my buddy who let me sleep at his apartment for a week while I looked for somewhere to live. Despite the slim pickins, I knew things would work out; they always do. And when it did, I was lucky to get a housing voucher from work and move into Greg's apartment at the last employee housing effort in Vail--"The Ghetto" or "Timber Ritz" (Timber Ridge), located just across the highway from the mountain will be my home for this winter. Minus a small complication moving out the mountain employee who had parked my soon-to-be-room by mistake, things should be moving nicely by week two.

The past week was filled with highs and a few lows. Starting off the season with two refunded lessons was an unexpected beginning to the previous season filled with hard work and rightful rewards: One involved a student-teacher back stab, figuratively speaking, and the other was a literal open wound. A seemingly cool wanna-be snowboard instructor left my one hour private lesson with a big smile on her face...But her price-conscious attitude left her feeling unsatisfied with Vail's uncompetitive value for money, so she turned around and complained about feeling "pressured to purchase another lesson," to recieve two free hours of private instruction. What shit! (Maybe karama will give her a big kick in the butt). The second low of the low's was a freak accident which occurred under my watch: A girl caught her toe edge while unloading the beginner chair lift, landing in a back-bending scorpion, snowboard smacking her smack dab in the back of the head...young woman crying, blood dripping on her white pants...not a happy moment. It was quite upsetting, actually. Meanwhile, I'm suffering from a uncomfortable and painful rotator cuff injury…Not a good start for ol' Jules…But, as I said before, things will work out; they always do.

Alas, the highs always outweigh the lows and it has been wonderful to return to a place I love so much. The familiar faces and friends are cherished here, indeed. There is not just one particular person or persons here who makes me happy—everyone makes me happy. From lockeroom chats to beers at Mez, I am thankful to return to a fun, warm community of familiar faces. It's great being a "returner", knowing the lay of the land, who's who, and having an idea of what to expect for the months up and comming. It has been a pleasure to return to Vail for my third season.



AND, the exciting news...seems that I might be working some TV jobs here in the Vail Valley. More details later...