adrenaline for real snowboarders, real pain for the gutless

i'm taking a break from narrating my incredible winter break to talk about a shot of adrenaline (and a lot more) to my head.

two weeks ago, i went on a ski trip to gaylord. yeah, what a name i hear you say. but i assure you, there was nothing gay about the trip. quite the opposite actually.

at that time, the snow hadn't really fallen in ann arbor. (now it's piling up faster than panda express) so the snow was really appealing. a weird and spontaneous fun feeling came over me. i was ready for anything. ANYTHING at all.

the gang that i walked with along the long winding path downhill to the rental place. the boots were stinky, but hey, it's just for two days. kaijian looks like a serial killer. as if the all-black get-up wasn't enough, the shades sealed the deal.

the trick to learning snowboarding is to go in without any expectations.
don't expect to feel pain. (although you most certainly would. i mean, duh)
don't expect to be able to do stunts in 30 minutes.
don't expect it to be easy.
don't expect to go fast.
BUT, do expect to fall a million times. and don't be afraid to. if you gotta fall, you gotta fall. gravity does favors for no one.

alright, now you say falling on snow shouldn't be too painful. let's think about it again. it's artificial snow. it's thin. some parts of the slope were covered with rocky ice. hard, rocky ice. now just picture yourself landing with a small 'thud'. then, multiply it by 50 times. do you feel it now? if not, i'll come over with a baseball bat.

snow sports really add a new dimension to posing.

skiing is for girls. and if you're a snowboarding girl, you've got balls.

snowboarding is so much cooler. this is one of the obvious reasons.

i'm happy i came to gaylord with unbeatable enthusiasm. i did almost everything a beginner can expect to do with a snowboard.
i learnt to fall willingly. it's much less painful that way.
i sped down the slope and lost control, and i actually liked it.
i sped down the slope and braked so hard that the blood in my ass rushed to my head. without falling. ooh, what a feeling. all that pressure and adrenaline.
i slammed my head into the snow twice. and got some macho bruises on my face. add a mild concussion too.

i'm glad i pushed myself to do whatever i did at the resort. i left the ski resort with every single joint in sufficient pain to not want to turn in bed at night. they say there ain't no other way but the hard way.

i have to board again.