deadline oriented

Well it is the day of the year I dread - tax day! Once again I have waited until the last possible minute to have my taxes done. Well in actuality they were done late last evening so I am ahead of schedule but I have to pick them up, sign them, and of course send the IRS a check. Yes this would have once been called procrastination but my sister Tanya says it is really being deadline oriented. The latest I found a post office staying open today in the vicinity of where I live is 7:30. Growing up I remember my dad barely making it to the post office by midnight so I will beat him by hours this evening.

"If it wasn't for the last minute nothing would get done."

a perfect day - almost

There are plenty of great days in life but very few perfect days. Saturday was one of those days that was almost perfect. It was the last weekend of skiing at Stevens Pass so we met my dad up at this hill for a day of skiing.

The weather forecast was for 70 degrees in Seattle so we knew it would be a warm one. When we arrived it was already 40 degrees so we started taking off the layers instead of piling them on. It is going to be a warm day on the hill when you grab sunglasses and a baseball hat instead of goggles and a ski hat.

The sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue color. Unlike most last weekends of skiing we didn't have to look for rocks or the tops of trees since they still had over 150" of snow left though by the end of the day I think it was considerably less.

The only item preventing it from being a perfect day was the snow - it was slushy in the sun and crunchy in the shade which made for an interesting transition. My dad described it as someone grabbing the back of your skis hanging on and then suddenly letting go when your body was still moving and the skis weren’t quite keeping up. It made for a bit of challenge in keeping ones balance.

You could tell that everyone on the slopes wasn’t used to the sun or warm weather as the atmosphere had a bit of giddiness to it. When you live someplace where the sun in is short supply when it does come out it is time to celebrate. There were costumes, crazy hats, Hawaiian shirts, and even a few brave souls going shirtless or wearing bikini tops though they did look a bit cold. The beginnings of sunburns were already visible for those who had forgotten or chose not to wear their sunscreen.

We got in just the right amount of runs where during last run of the day you can feel leg muscles you didn’t know you had and are a bit wobbly. You know another run could be a disaster and you could end up getting a free toboggan ride.

We topped off a great day on the hill with dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant Chantanee, watching the Mariners win a close one, and sitting in the hot tub while it was still in the upper 60’s. What a way to end the last day of the season – I am already anxious for the next ski season even though it means the end of summer and a return of our gray and rainy Seattle weather.

360 degrees

We are once again facing another reorg where I spend many of my waking hours. I am sure everyone who has ever worked for any corporation knows the dread that comes with the word reorg in an organization. It is enough to strike terror and fear in the heart of any employee no matter how secure we might feel in our job and how much we enjoy where we work.

I am not sure what suddenly motivates a company, the same company who can take eons to figure out and move on other items, to suddenly announce a reorg within months or a year of a previous reorg and have the process complete within a month. The oddest part of the whole situation is that whatever the new organization looks like if the company is older than 5 years they have already had this "new" structure in place before. The new executives or the consulting company have suddenly discovered the way we were set up several reiterations ago suddenly will work much more efficiently now than it did previously.

Waiting for the new org charts has almost become a bit of an office pool - in fact I would like to propose that instead of filling out March madness brackets we should have office reorg brackets and the person who wins the office pool gets to pick any open position in the company they desire. After all the person who wins is very tied into the water cooler gossip and certainly has their pulse on the company.

I just find it all a bit ironic that in every reorg I have ever been a part of we have never really come up with a new structure - it is just a repeat. This one doesn't look to be any exception and I already have my office brackets complete in anticipation.

fresh powder

Friday Tanya and I took a vacation day to hit the slopes and get a lesson in the process. It was women's day at Mission Ridge and we both decided a lesson would be a great idea based on our skiing form. We can get down about anything (well maybe not the runs Phil or Don dream up) but it sure isn't very pretty. This late in the season we were pleasantly surprised to have fresh snow on the mountain - in fact our first run down we were skiing fresh powder. The snow continued throughout the day and by the end there was at least a foot of fresh snow for us to make tracks in. The lesson must have been a success since both of us even skied a black diamond run under the chair. Skiing a run under the chair is always a test of your ability and willingness to show off your less than stellar form (in my case here). For some reason skiing under the chair for an audience always seems to downgrade my skiing at least 2 levels - good thing I didn't take up acting for a living as the stage doesn't seem to be my forte. I know I am assuming others are actually watching but I know I watch everyone ski when I am on the lift myself so I don't think it is that big of a stretch. The lesson was great and maybe next year I will actually start the season with a lesson instead of at the end when I can forget it by next ski season.

Here is to fresh powder and learning how to make graceful turns (ok still working on that piece) not to mention a workout I felt the next day in my calf muscles. Guess I must have learned something new as I have never had sore calf muscles after skiing before.

blogging in crimson

Okay since I am really feeling the Cougar love today I am turning the blog crimson and gray. Lets hope my effort results in a win and if not it has been a great run!

GO COUGS!!!!

pure entertainment

Check out this link for one of the most creative websites I have seen in a long time http://producten.hema.nl/. Please wait for it to load as it may take a few minutes. It amazes me how creative someone can be. This gives me something to entertain myself with while I anxiously await the sweet 16 game that begins at 4:27 PST. Go Cougs!

how sweet it is

SWEET 16 - the Cougs are in!!! Don't know if I would even believe it if I hadn't seen the games in person - wow! I had thought the Cougs would be playing in Washington D.C. so hadn't really thought we would go but when they announced we were the 4th seed in Denver I started booking tickets. My sister Carla and her husband Dave decided to make the trip with us as well and Sam certainly didn't want to be left out after the time we had in Sacramento during March Madness last year. We flew in Thursday morning with a plane full of Cougs ready to cheer on our team. The Cougs played in the 3rd game of the day against Winthrop. We were nervous when the 1st half ended in a tie - they were playing the same type of game the Cougs do which had them struggling a bit. The 2nd half was all Cougs - and we blew them out 70-41. Even I was feeling a bit sorry for them but I enjoyed not being nervous at all for the last 15 minutes of the game which is so unlike me but even I felt it was a win at that point.

Luckily we won as we had already gotten our tickets to Saturday as well. After watching Notre Dame play George Mason I felt if the Cougs played our defensive style of ball we could win the game. The Cougar fans were into the game and even those around us in our nose bleed section started cheering for us as well - guess they figured they might as well join us though we never did convert the older man in front of us. It was a great victory - not the most exciting game but when the Cougs play I don't need excitement as my stomach can't handle it. I like being able to relax just a bit and savor the win during the game and winning by 20 points definitely makes it possible.

It isn't looking like we will be able to make it to Charlotte Thursday but going to Denver was definitely worth it. Sam and Dave even got some skiing in at Vail on Friday while Carla and I stayed up on the Friday games at the ESPN zone. I think we may have even converted Dave a bit and made the Beaver a Coug fan at least when Oregon State isn't in it. Looking forward to Thursday now and hope it is a defensive struggle against North Carolina so I could be trying to book a flight to the Final 4 - if you are going to dream, dream big.

GO COUGS!