Kindred Spirits and Fickle Minds

Sorry for the delay in posting, my few but devoted readers. Yesterday was Gaper Day. I bitched out on last year's post, but I am determined not to repeat the lack of performance for 2012.

 It was cold, and a little wet, and I broke my old Kemper binding clean off my Mambo board, but I got drunk with friends, and I still got to go snowboarding so all in all I had a great Monday. My Tuesday was somewhat hungover, but not nearly as bad as my associate, Dave. Jules, I think the only person NOT dressed up in offensively retro ski gear, had never experienced a Gaper day. Indeed, one older skier saw all 150 of us and exclaimed "Who ARE you guys?!"

 This is why I'm here. It's all about the ski; the fun of the hill, and sharing the insanity with friends. We lost a lot of good people this winter as a community, and days like yesterday are the days I'll remember when I'm old and maybe too decrepit to ride 85 days a year. I may not be filling the bank account, but I'm truly happy. I know that the percentage of friends outside of Whistler that can honestly say that can't be higher than 10%.

 Speaking of people I get on with... I've known about Waiter Rant for a couple of years when I received his first book for Christmas, but I finally got around to checking out his blog, the one that started it all. I started at the very beginning, and as of now I'm at April 15th, 2008's entry. An anonymous writer in his late 30s, "Waiter" tells all the sordid stories that I know only too well. It's funny; the more I read, the more I realise how many idiosyncrasies I share with the protagonist:

 He serves tables, I tend bar.
A penchant for whisky, fancy words, red heads, and a good book.
A fantastic writer (hey, it's MY website. I'll say what I want!)
Prone to singledom infused minor bouts of depression, which he is all too happy to divulge with his readers.

 The list goes on.

Frankly, if you like my stuff, you'll LOVE his. You'll get a feel for the other side of the fence with respect to going out to dinner. If I get a chance, I'd love to buy this man a drink and give him a couple of stories of my own.

Finally, I'm watching the Billboard Awards, and I gotta say: seriously? Chris fucking Brown? He hit his woman - Rihanna, no less. He gets best R&B artist of the year? Do people not remember his past indescretions? I'm surprised he didn't thank his attorneys in his acceptance speech. I know I'm late to the party with this, but it just gets my ire up. Guys who beat their lady are weak and insecure, and there's no excuse for taking it out on anyone except a brick wall or the heavy bag at the gym. Fuck you, Brown. I honestly hope you read this. Go die painfully.

 Keep fighting the good fight, my friends.

End of an era.

Well folks, it's been over a month. So much has happened. I went to England to visit family with Jules, which was fantastic; I even managed to catch up with some old school friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in almost ten years! The final Telus sponsored Ski and Snowboard Festival came and went, and I had a blast. Thank you, Press Pass! Though I couldn't see the sheepdogs at either their outdoor show or at their late night extravaganza at Bill's due to work, there is no doubt that this was my finest yet. Check out my blog entries for the OFFICIAL! website, where I covered State of the Art's Opening Party and the Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown. Speaking of work, I have a new job. My previous restaurant shut down at the end of april, so now see me doing all kinds of food and drink stuff at La Bocca! Seriously. It's awesome. But not till next week; I'm in England. Again. Yeah. More news; less fun. My little sister Ali lost a long battle with cancer days after her 22nd birthday. The funeral will be this Thursday, and it sounds like it's going to be one hell of a turnout. I'm in the middle of writing a little something to say, but I don't think I'll be able to read it, especially not now that it may well be standing room only. Which, when you think about it, is fuckin' awesome. The impact of her merely existing and getting through this horrible chapter the best way she could, with dignity, left people awestruck. It's tough, but like I've been saying the whole time: if she'd been healthy her entire life, and been fatally struck by a car just after her 22nd birthday, we'd be totally unprepared. At least we've known that this could have been a possibility from the outset. BUT! the important part. My mom, in her ingenious way, has organised a minisite where you can donate to CLIC Sargent, a charity that helped Ali all the way through and did wonderful things for her. Go to her site and give what you can, and/or share it with people. At the time of posting, including offline funds, my mom has raised over 4000 GBP (I don't have the sign for the Pound). Only a couple of days remain to help, and it'd really mean a lot. OK. Enough sad stuff. Go to awesomepeoplehangingouttogether.tumblr.com/ and cheer yourself up.