Me! Not quite awake yet! Caffeine hopefully will do the trick!

fear and loathing [for a while] in New Jersey

I am always on-line, messing around with different websites, signing up… seeing what they are all about etc. So one day I came across RidersVoice.com [ a site for snowboarders to rate/ review the boards they own/ ride ] and I created a profile and started rating my boards. A couple of days later I got a ‘thank you’ email from some dude from RidersVoice, I wrote back and we found out that we are practically neighbors. he lives about an eight minute walk from my place. I thought that was extremely random.

His nickname will be.. uh… Neighbor.

So yeah, Neighbor and I have been communicating, but seeing the fact that it was Winter and Winters are meant to be spent somewhere on a mountain and NOT in the City, we never met up until a couple of weeks ago. He’s cool. Italian, has two female roommates, works and is is into some of the same things I am really into. Basically… I am stoked to have a friend in my neighborhood that is of legal drinking age hahaha.

Last week he was planning on going to Mountain Creek, Vernon NJ to go downhill biking. He’d been asking me if I wanted to come along and I said “sure… no problem! I am Dutch and biking is in my blood”. I really did not foresee a lot of problems. I mean, I have been biking since I could walk and really, how hard could it really be to go DOWN hill? haha… In all fairness, I was expecting a nice leisurely nature bike ride.

WRONG!!

My first clue was when I saw what came with the bike rental:

• a huge helmet, you know, covering the chin and all
• knee/ shin protection
• elbow/ arm guards
• gloves with the the knuckles covered in Teflon
• a plastic shield/ body armor covering my back / chest and shoulders.

Another dead giveaway: the place wasn’t called Mountain Creek for the Summer, no: it changed it’s name to DIABLO. Now… I don’t speak Spanish but I do know what Diablo means…

Still not too concerned I peddled around on the property and we decided to go up the lift. The same one I used to ride in Winter…  with my snowboard under my arm and a smile on my face. I don’t know what happened but I got scared shit-less! Seriously… I started to sweat and Neighbor became seriously worried that I was gonna choke up and cry.

We got off the lift and took the wrong trail. It has the same color/ shape coding as in the Winter. We ended up on a nice black one. All I saw were tree stumps, rocks, pebbles and stones, gravel and I just prayed to God and the Queen in Holland that I would survive.

I made it down and I sucked bad. I mean I seriously feared for my life. However, I was determined to get it down. After the 4th run I felt confident and was actually getting a bit braver, faster and secure in my riding/ braking and what not. I was smiling and thought I was the shit.

Last run: Neighbor thought it would be fun to take some ‘action shots’. For some reason I had this vision of me crashing on this part that consisted of just rock. I got so scared. I told myself to snap out of it and be confident. ‘It’s all in your mind girl’ I told myself. I passed that specific part of the run down and I was happy as the hippo. Next was the swirly park part and I felt like I could do it.. no problem…

Long story short. I crashed royally. Twice. Of course on the last run. On the Rocks… just like how I enjoy my drinks… I can tell from experience that that protection I wore… the body shield etc. really works! Neighbor looked so scared, I mean it must have looked pretty bad and truthfully… it hurt and I got super scared and I wanted to cry, but I knew that I had to get right back on that bike cuz otherwise I would never do it again… so that’s what I did.

I was stoked. I mean, I was scared, I got hurt and I didn’t let it stop me from trying something new. [well maybe the fact that there were hardly any women there and a ton of guys might have had something to do with it as well..]

Lesson: you are scared, you fall, you get up, you have fun, you fall, you are scared, you get back up and just do it again… with a smile, looking fabulous [not really haha] but feeling like a million dollars.

Soccer in NYC

Tonic Bar on Times Square was jam packed with fellow Dutch Country Men/ Women. I had no idea there were that many in NYC… and even more amazing is that they all managed to get time off to go watch the game!

We beat the Italians! Oh yeah… we killed it!

Horoscope, FloBots and BodyFat

Daily Horoscope for Aquarius
Today’s Date: May 31, 2008

The past was marvelous, but it’s done. Clear the way toward your future. Your actions of the next few days will lock in the best results.

Rating:   * * * * -
Intensity: 59%
Keywords: pithy, linear
Mood: well-behaved

Nice, am getting pretty excited for the future hehe! Seriously, have been getting back in ‘the groove’ and in a couple of days ‘Internet Week NY 2008′ will start and I am attending heaps of events. I hope to get inspired and maybe a new partner :)

The ten days went by rather fast. The wife’s coming back from Miami today! No more kid duty! This needs a party! Hahaha, the Penguins are playing tonight. They killed it the other day! The game was mindblowing and I expect a similar performance tonight!

I love the track ‘Handlebars‘, well actually the whole album of this group called “FloBots‘, their album is called ‘Fight with tools’

Some info on Flobots:

When a pair of intelligent, visionary emcees joins forces with a battle-hardened, groove-fusing rhythm section, a classically trained violist, and a jazz trumpet player, the result is a sound that explores and expands the frontiers of live hip-hop.  Progressive in both style and message, the band’s ability to drop from symphonic rock-infused crescendos into stripped-down string-laden breakbeats has earned Flobots a reputation for both originality and authenticity.  Armed with musicianship, intelligence, and an ingrained sense of rebellion, Flobots are looking to engage a new musical culture, one mind at a time. read more…

In February 2008, Flobots launched a project entitled “Street Team” which will allow them to put their socially and politically ripe lyrics into action. Brer Rabbit has said, “There are lots of things we can say theoretically about wanting to activate a population, but we are actually trying to create a real plan to allow people to be a positive force in the community.” Street Team allows volunteers to sign up to work on various projects throughout their community. Currently, Flobots have partnerships with Colorado Progressive Coalition, Student Peace Alliance, and Denver Children’s Home. The Flobots also have performed several free concerts at PeaceJam events. read more….

Other than that, oh… I had my bodyfat measured: 20.5% . I want to go down to 17 % so it’ll take some dedication… but like with snowboarding, I will be persistant and I will succeed!

 

home alone.. well sort of

The wife left a couple of days ago for Florida. She took the baby with her, leaving me with her 13 year old son. She’s gonna be gone for 10 days total. Her sister got a boob job and she went to Miami to take care of her. I want one as well! a boob job that is hahaha… I guess I am saving it for my 35th birthday. I love my wife and her kids, but it is kind of nice to have the whole house [almost] to myself and not to hear the baby scream and throw tantrums all day long.

Something strange is happening to me… I am kind of getting hormonal again and I am afraid that my dirty thirties are turning into a fact of life. I mean… I am trying my best to ignore my feelings, I work out in the gym, watch TV, write this blog, skate etc. but it keeps being on my mind… and I just can’t help it. I am going a bit crazy… argh.

 

Compulsive and Pleasure Seeking

I wish I was a bit more like the women described in the last post. I consider myself compulsive and pleasure seeking… hopefully one day my work will be my pleasure.

Anyway, I have been going to the gym religiously and trying to keep my food intake semi – healthy. It’s been challenging because my team “the Penguins” have been killing it in the playoffs so I’ve spent many evenings/ afternoons in the pub, drinking lots of ketel one’s and eating pub [not healthy] food. We made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and are playing Detroit!

Whoohoo! Go Pens !!!

For Young Women, Ambition Gets In The Way Of Life

Dove recently interviewed 500 women in their 20s and discovered that no matter how much they accomplish, millennial females rarely feel satisfied. On the one hand, consistently working towards that next level of success leads to persistence and ambition, which is great. On the other hand, a void of fulfillment brings along an enormous sense of inadequacy, which leads to lifelong dissatisfaction.

According to a report in The Arizona Republic:

Twenty-something women are more accomplished than ever before. More are climbing the corporate ladders and earning multiple graduate degrees, and this generation of women has opportunities that their mothers and grandmothers only dreamed about.But a new study by Dove and Columbia University also say these young women are so engrossed in having it all by the time they are 30, they are not fully enjoying what they achieve. These women are being pressured by their inner voice to keep pushing for the next goal. Nothing is ever good enough and accomplishments go unrewarded and unappreciated.

 

This perfection complex causes girls to “collect” experiences to bulk up their six-page resumes instead of simply experiencing life. As a college student, I witness this on a daily basis. Girls go from class, to work, to the library where they study until the early morning hours. Everyone is in a competition to get the highest grades, make the most money, and tout the busiest schedule. Leisure time is almost looked down upon, in a “Don’t you have anything productive to do?” kind of way.

Dove hopes to change the definition of “success” by ultimately convincing young women to enjoy the present moment instead of constantly focusing on next week, next month, and next year. We’ve seen Dove’s Fresh Takes series, and though the purpose is admirable, I’m hoping they have other tactics up their sleeves to reach out to teens. To get their message across, they need to infiltrate young girls’ lives in a way that 2-minute commercials shown during “The Hills” can’t.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Summer

Winter is over. I managed to get 62 days ON SNOW, meaning, I have been on a chairlift/ gondola on 62 different days this season. I realized that I’ll most likely won’t go pro any day soon. hehehe…. I did South Shore Soldiers for both sessions and it was a sad show. I just can’t seem to catch air and the times that I do… well… I blank out. I probably keep my eyes closed and think of the Queen of Holland. No air awareness whatsoever. I suck… it was the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over… expecting a different result.

Besides the fact that I got sick with the flu twice [first time at SIA and the second time right after Soldiers] I can consider myself pretty fortunate that my only ‘snowboard related’ injuries consisted of :

• 2 mild concussions [Killington + Stratton]
• a deviated tailbone [got a lefty now]
• a neck that shows the classic shape of someone who had a whiplash [the chiro asked me if I had endured any kind of trauma to the neck/ head over the last couple of weeks... the chiro loves me hehe]

So now that Winter is officially over in my book… what will be the plan of action for Summer??

I got invited for TRAMP CAMP, starting June. Tramp Camp is done by some of the guys of the NYSG and consists of a huge trampoline, lots of beers, a grill and a couple of boxes/ fake snow. This will be a good way to get some well needed air awareness… the beers will def. help!

I also want to pick up skating again, as I pretty much haven’t touched it for the whole Winter. I mean, why would I risk getting injured on concrete while I can get injured on snow?? It’s time to whip out Mr. Dan Mc.Farlane’s ‘Skateboarding Explained’ DVD again.

I started my diet/ work out regime again and I am proud to say that I am at 124 pounds now and I intend to eat healthy and visit my gym on a daily basis. I want to get fit, lean and mean hehehe.

Oh, today I am meeting with my ’4 hour workweek’ support group. I am pretty happy to say that I have been applying most of what the books says for the last year, I am just ready to find a way to actually do something in those four hours that will generate some income to fund my rest of the week activities!

Oh, been surfing for the first time ever!

SIA , Tahoe and No Sex

I went to Vegas last week, to go see what gear I’ll be riding/ sporting next season. The show is called SIA  [ I still have no idea what those letters stand for ]. My wife tagged along and we were staying with the SouthShore Soldiers people in the Windham Suites.

It was fun, wasn’t it for the sad fact that I got super sick on Tuesday night and was hallucinating on the plane, popping mucinex and anti flu pills like they were m&m’s.

I bruised my tailbone on Monday when my new craigslist friend T told me that I should just ‘bomb’ that jump. Hahaha, that’s what I did and I landed it on my ass… and head. The helmet broke and my taibone bruised. It hurt.

Anyway, am in South Lake Tahoe since Friday and I have been riding every day. The more I ride, the more I realize that I really suck. Things are different out East.

The sex  situation: non existent… I think I might be getting a bit hormonal… been looking at guys more… maybe it’s the weather… I don’t know :)

peer pressure in the park

I went to Mountain Creek a couple of weeks ago.

Mountain Creek is a hill in dirty New Jersey and they happen to have the biggest park out East. It’s only 1.5 hrs away from here and they have night riding! Woohoo!

It was a last minute thing; J. sent me a text message asking if I had anything better to do and the obvious answer was NO! So 2 hours later we were on our way to the Creek. Conditions were far from optimal, but really, I don’t care… I would ride it out in the City if I had the skills.

Anyway, J. wanted to do park, so that’s where we went, to ‘South’. It was bigger than last time and I was getting pretty excited. I had just widened my stance to 22 inches so I was ready to put it to the test. It worked, had to get used to it blah blah…

Sooo, to cut a very long story short… J. was resting (he’s a worse rider than I am) and I was exploring the newly opened trails by myself.

I am a pussy, I mean I am scared shitless when I think about the rails and my teeth… so I went on a baby box (progression box they call them I believe) and I did ok.. I didn’t fall, I went over it, no funny business, landed it and my imaginary cheerlead team was doing a little dance in my honor…

Next… I make a left, go on some other trail and realize that there is nobody else and started doing little butters (it’s night so not that busy as most kids have already been collected by mommy) all of a sudden I see this big kicker [chunk of ice] covering the WHOLE trail. I mean, it was big enough for me to consider taking of my snowboard and hiking back to my usual trail, I figured that would be my best bet. As I am bending over to unstrap… two little boys come flying ’round the corner and they hi 5′d for being there and getting ready to jump that bitch! I was kind of shocked…

I told them to go first and one did.

One down, one more to go… so I tell the other kid to go.

He refuses and tells me to go. By now I really felt the pressure and wanted to dissappear… I had no choice and I took a deep breath, though of our Queen in Holland and prayed for the best!I landed it (accidental) and all of a sudden I see another one of those monsters and I jumped it and landed that one as well! The two little boys turned into my real life cheerleading team and I felt pretty damn good.

Until…

One of them comes up and tells me that him and his buddy (I guess they were 14 and 17) had been wondering if I was ‘young‘ or an ‘older woman‘. I looked at them in sheer disbelief and answered that I was an ‘older woman.’

Of course they asked me my age… I said “30″ and they were pretty excited by that answer!

They asked me right away where [in the park] my kids were… I told them I had none. They seemed to be a bit thrown off by that answer, but recovered quickly by stating: “Woah! That is so awesome, you are THIRTY and you snowboard?? AND you ride Park??”

And then they took off… leaving me wondering what I should make of that comment… I decided that I needed a drink, you know… in the only old people’s place young kids would like to have access to… THE BAR.