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.