Skiing like and old man.

Once again returned from soccer in poor condition. I don't know if it's because I'm small, fall down a lot on this damn Astroturf, am getting old much too fast, or if I just actually suck at soccer but I can't seem to escape without damaging myself. The worse is that we have lost every game I've played (our record is something like 0-4) and I've been on a number of losing teams in my life and can't help but wonder if it's me, the team, or both? What a crummy thing being a loser, especially after losing to a bunch of old men in doubles (see Sportmen's Tennis Club) and having to drive to Weston, MA for it too. I guess it's better than sitting around and the alternative of going to a gym or running regularly sounds terrible.

Lot's of questions, not a lot of answers. Another possibility is that I have pre-maturely aged and my back is giving out and I should not be skiing, playing tennis, and soccer all in one week. Stretching might also help, but who wants to do that? Speaking of skiing, I went up to Loon Mountain in New Hampshire this weekend and had a pretty good time. Loon is something between Bolton Valley and Sugar Bush or Stowe in VT. The funny thing with skiing is at least half of it seems to be the adventure off the mountain and the culture of the mountain. There's so many funny personalities there (think Southpark ">"Asspen" not to mention the "ski bunnies (see above*)" Everyone is there to have fun which I love too -although the head phones thing is something, beyond the safety aspect which you can debate, I'm not quite sure I like (even though I've done it myself, especially if you are skiing alone). But it seems stupid that we spend like $70 for a day and spend an hour sitting at a table buying ridiculously expensive fried food for lunch and then quitting often before the end of the day. Then you go home and you talk about skiing and talking about skiing and the "freshies" and all is another cultural phenom in it of itself. Given the price, the distance to drive, the lines, and all sometimes I think we are convincing ourselves that it's better than it is. Furthermore, taking off your boots and grabbing a beer at the end of the day really is the best part which seems counter-intuitive. Maybe I don't even like skiing, no wait that can't be true, I just don't have the balls I used to and don't try anything that exciting anymore (actually I probably never did but just think I did - like when you get 8 inches of air and think you got 4 ft). It reminds of college and being on the diving team where the best part of practice was being done and sitting in the hot tub...probably a bad sign that you shouldn't be doing something if that's the case.

We did have some adventures before and on the mountain. After almost losing my ski bag off the top of my friends pick-up because I forgot to tie it down and it nearly fell off while we sped down the highway at 70 miles an hour (it was like 7:00 am) we made it to the mountain only to falter once again when my friend took out a little kid at the top of the mountain moving about 3 miles an hour and just not seeing him. It's really hard not too laugh when things like this happen even know you're not supposed to. I then crashed into a tree trying to wedge my way into one of those quick woods offshoots that comes back to the trail a little too quick. I'm sure it was fun not being me and hearing me scream at the last minute.

Anyways, that's it for now. I am taking off for Guatemala for work in two weeks to visit some coffee farmers and I am pretty psyched about that, one might even say stoked. I'll report more soon, sorry for this lame post and thank to you anyone who's actually reading this.

*Disclaimer: Picture of ski bunny may or may not actually be a real girl that I saw but in any case there's something really hot about athletic girls who can ski and look good with all those clothes on.

Sports, Love &/in Minnesota, & More

Playing in the Boston Ski & Sports or BSSC as people say has been fun but a big step up from previous recreation. We play on a real indoor soccer field with a real scoreboard, ref, uniforms, and the whole 9 yards. As you could imagine, some people take this much too seriously and as I sit in pain writing this post I can't help but wonder why the goalie last night thought it was necessary to check me into the board as I felt several bones snap - ok not really, but I did have trouble moving today. The worst though is getting knocked over from some these woman who must be on steroids or something. I mean what are you supposed to - knock them back over?

Speaking of moving, this past weekend I went to the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain which moved last year to basically my back yard, which I was pretty psyched about. There aren't a whole lot of places to go out in JP, definitely not the best place to move if you are looking for good night life in Boston. There are even fewer places to dance but The Milky Way is one of them and on Saturday night they had some great DJ's and some spinning lights on the dance floor. Only problem - no one dancing. There were people there for sure, although everyone seems to be about 5-10 years older than me on average, and they stood around the dance floor just talking. And if you can't get people to dance to good music on a Saturday night I don't know what you can do. My strategy was to get on the floor even if with the 3 other people (2 of whom were men) and pull some good moves - this did not help. Everyone continued not dancing while I made a fool of myself.

Lastly, I am taking off to Minnesota this weekend after a bizarre series of events. I was facebooked by a girl I have not spoken to since freshman year of college (who I was never particularly close with) who said she wanted to buy me a ticket to my former roommate and good friend's surprise birthday. Wait, hold on a second, were the strings attached? None apparently she said. Oh she must be rich? Probably not as she does Teach for America. So I decided to go with it and take a chance since free trips are always sweet and I want to see my friend. We'll see how it goes and hopefully this isn't some grand hoax where I have to pop out of a birth cake somewhere naked or something- but apparently this girl and my friend are pseudo dating long-distance which I didn't hear about from him and seems rather odd. Although not that odd considering my other roommate from college was dumped shortly after a 3 year relationship ended just after graduation when he found while travelling in Israel that it was for a woman that she'd been cheating with for almost a year and she was now a lesbian! So much for their plan to move to Hawaii together. Or take my friend who studied abroad in Ghana and met a military man there that's more than twice her age (mid-forties) with 2 daughters just younger than us, and became friends only to later fall in love after graduation after he moved to Japan and then she moved there too to get married. The latest I hear is they are planning on making some children of their own in New Orleans where they now live.

If all goes well I should be dating a trannie soon on the streets of St. Paul that comes back to Boston only to find out that it's my boss' mother who is pregnant with 3 children, and needs me to travel to Zanzibar to find the father whose whereabouts are unknown.