10:24 AM, Jan 2, 2004
The Slopes of Snowmass
Hey, I'm in Colorado, and it's snowing too hard for skiing. Keith, who's here with me, is of no such mind. Having never skied in this part of the world, he'll brave any kind of weather to get out on the slopes. I came to Colorado in February of last year, to ski at Steamboat, and I had a hell of a time, just staying upright. I was badly out of shape, and it made a difference, but another big problem was that my right leg, broken three years previous, still wasn't as strong as my left, so it got tired very quickly.
Well, since my bout of running this past year, I guess I got my feet to match up in strength enough that my right leg never gave me any trouble yesterday, or today. In February, the pain surfaced within five or ten minutes, making what had previously been my favorite outdoor activity a living hell. It was nothing like that, this time, but since my leg injury, I'm afraid I need to take some lessons to regain the cadence that my legs once had.
Aspen is incredible. There's a ton to do, and it's all more expensive than in any city I've ever visited. We made a friend on New Year's Eve: a nice girl named Carolyn, a photographer from New Jersey. We're meeting her out, in town tonight, and it should be a fun time. I look forward, however, to returning to Kansas City, and seeing what's going on in the non-skiing world. This place is like Disney World, in that it's utterly separated from reality, and seemingly, the flow of time. Also, everyone's good looking here. Cheers!
Rachel brooked no delay in saying:
Isn't it amazing how being beautiful is a seeming prerequisite in places like those?
That's kind of how I feel these couple of days before school now that I'm back in Chicago. I'm making a conscious effort to not look at the clock, 'cos these three days are my vacation. Doesn't matter - right now, I too am outside the flow of time. Whoo!
11:04 PM, Jan 3, 2004