6am - Raining, hard. Keegan - disappointed.
9am - Rain stopped. Keegan - rips off her pyjamas to reveal that she’s been wearing her snowboarding gear underneath this whole time.*
We met up with Jackie, who’d graciously let me borrow a proper jacket and goggles, grabbed a coffee and hit the lifts! It was an interesting flow of internal dialog thought the day.
Holy fuck, skiing is not like riding a bike, I have no idea what I’m doing, what have I gotten myself into?!
Okay.. these green circle hills aren’t so bad.. the kids are doing it no problem… alright I remember what to do…
Shit fuck balls I’m going to way too fast! OMG is that a mogul?! Yep, just lost a ski. Thank God Alex wasn’t far, I probably couldn’t have put that back on by myself.
Ok just take it easy, you don’t have to prove anything. Wow that view though! FUCK! Lost my ski again. Where’s Alex? FML. Ok I got this. *trying to get my boot back in the ski* GET THE FUCK IN THERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!
Alright, if I can get my ski back in by myself, I can handle anything! Just be confident. Yea, being afraid is only going to foster more fear and more tumbles. And fuck it, if you fall you’ll just get back up again, or if you don’t at least maybe you’ll have a cool snap chat about being air lifted off the mountain, either way, you’re winning.
“Hey Alex, I can probably handle some blue square hills!”
Yeaaaaaah I got this! Man, I could be pro in no time. I feel like I’m in a music video.
Oh fuck my legs hurt. Also I can’t breathe. I’m so thirsty. I can’t feel my teeth. It’s like I just had sex for hours with multiple orgasms: dehydrated, breathing heavily, high on good vibes. No really, my knees are burning, my calves are spasming, and my thighs are on fire.
“Can we go back to the green hills?”
End of day returning my gear.. some kid, no more than 7 or 8 years old says enthusiastically, “I spent all day on the blue hills!”
You limber little bastard.
I need to mention here how insanely patient and understanding Alex and Jackie were with me. They never made me feel rushed or that I was holding them back and they looked out for me. Jackie is also one of the most kindhearted, and generous people I’ve ever met. She treated me like I was an old friend, which I appreciate more than I can articulate. I genuinely hope that’s not the last time I have the pleasure of spending time in the presence of her genuinely calming spirit.
Next stop - a seedy part of town in the heart of Vancouver where I audited an acting class and made a new friend while standing outside in the rain repeatedly pressing the buzzer in hopes that perhaps they just didn’t hear it the first 6 times.
I think my biggest take aways from the class are:
1) no pointing, sighing, eye rolling.
2) if the script says yes, don’t say yea.
3) concentration is about being present in the moment and being able to come back to the task at hand while also being aware of what’s going on around you.
My relative, Steve Fera (who just so happened to teach Alex in high school), picked me up after class and we drove down to Tsawassen. I was greeted by an enthusiastic Joy who fed me fresh salmon caught by none other than her lovely husband, Steve. We exchanged a few stories and it was off to bed.
*Lies.