Life in General

This year was great; definitely one for the history books. It started off with a great snow season and some interesting--and always cold-- snowboarding trips. I also passed the Level 1 Snowboaring exam and I can now say that I am a PROFESSIONAL snowboard instructor (Whoopedidoo). Spring was springy--enjoyable classes and sunshine.

The summer months were the best I've had in a long time, thanks to the entire staff at good old Camp K by the Lake. Fall was boring and grey, but it was the perfect time to pick an old hobby: reading. Right now I'm reading a book about a Russian spy and his absorption into the post-Cold War world.

And this year sure did go out with a bang. Stevens Pass finally opened; partying with camp friends; a couple late nights at Haggen's. So how am I going to make 2005 just as fun?

For starters, I think a lot of snowboarding would do me some good. Maybe even another wild and crazy Spring Break trip to the snowy shores of Lake Wenatchee. This spring I will finally be free of Edmonds CC. Then it's one to Western! After another summer on the shores of Crabapple lake, of course.

Gonna fly now,
Isaac

(Name the movie this song debuted for)

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Aaaaahhh ... Christmas comes and Christmas goes, but I still think it's more fun when Christmas is coming rather than when Christmas is going. I had a fun time buying gifts for my family: all us kids pitched in a bought mom a cake platter and pair of shoes she really wanted; dad got some new ties; I bought Candace (younger sister) the new U2 album; Candace and I split the cost of a new purse for Chloe (youngest sister).

My favorite present this year: a black nylon/spandex shirt for hiking. I feel buff wearing it, so buff that I could run for governor of California.

One tradition fell by the wayside this year. Chloe is usually the first one up around 6 a.m. and proceeds to wake everyone else up. As she has gotten older -- she's now 14 -- she has let us sleep in later and later. But Chloe didn't wake me up this year; instead I woke up to my mom sternly saying "Isaac Mathew!" Apparently my family had spent the previous hour trying to calmly wake me up--to no avail. (Never underestimate the power of the middle name.)

We spent the afternoon in Burien visiting with the relatives. And, of course, I've had enough holiday snacks to last me until next year.

Lemon Blueberry cake with raspberry glaze,
Isaac

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Now it feels like Christmas. (Translation: I'm almost done shopping.)
I have seen the snow and even played in it. (Translation: I went snowboarding up at Baker with some friends from the UW.)
I feel quite popular. (Translation: It's good to have everyone back in town, even if it means more late nights at Haggen's.)

The Best Return of the Season award definitely goes to Adam Barhan. Adam and I were friends in middle school and then he moved to Tennessee. Currently he lives in Texas with his dad and works at a climbing gym. He;s back in town for two weeks visting his aunt and uncle. I think it's amazing that we didn't really have much in common when he left and now we have tons in common, even though we spent the last 6 years on opposite sides of the Rockies.

We both kayak, we both climb, we both worked at a climbing gym, he enjoy hiking, and we like to snowboard. So todaywe did something he just started doing and I have heard of but never done: we went geocaching. This is basically a worldwide game of treasure hunting with a GPS. Check it out at www.geocaching.com and type in your zip code to find out how many caches are near you.

It's looking to be a fun week. Seattle Art Museum tomorrow, shopping with my sisters on Wednesday, and lots of climbing inbetween. Oh yeah, and Christmas is SATURDAY!

Jolly Christmahanuwa nza,
Isaac

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Aaahhhhhh, pay day. After overdrawing my checking last week and doing a super speedy transfer to avoid being charged, I was quite relieved today to add to that lonely $5 in there. Maybe now I can do some Christmas shopping (ugh).

For those of you coming back this way for break: I've been warming up the booths at Haggen's the past few nights. I talked with Kira, Will, and Amber late Sunday night and found myself back there on Monday night with Chris Neihbauer.

On Tuesday, Chris and I had the great idea to go hike Mt. Pilchuck and find some snow. (This is a test, this is only a test.) Thankfully it rained the entire time and we were so soaked and cold at the half way point that we decided that we had had enough trudging through a measly 1 foot of snow. (This has been a test of the online sarcasm system.)

So today I decided to seek out therapy for my dwindling dreams of snowboarding: I checked out an 80's skiing film titled "Into the Snow Zone." It came complete with horrible music, huge hairdo's, bright colored full-body ski suits, and beautiful, beautiful, untracked powder. This film was a joke compared to a Warren Miller film, but it was enough to make me feel better about this season.

So how do you dismantle an atomic bomb?
Isaac

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Do you remember the winter of 2001/2002? I remember the winter of 2001/2002. I remember skiing on only 33 inches of snow on January 1st. (There's normally 60 inches of snow by January.)

I remember skiing one day of powder. I remember having to learn how to ride on ice so that I could teach my students how to ride on ice. I even had to teach my students how to fall on ice in a way that wouldn't hurt too much. I remember a 10-foot deep half pipe (puny)--the top three feet were ice.

I went snowshoeing today with my dad. We hiked Skyline Ridge which is located just across the road from Stevens Pass. I was supposed to be having instructor training today. Stevens Pass was supposed to open today. The snow base was absolutely horrible up there. And with a forecast like this (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/forecast/defa ult.aspx?zone=WA018#Forecast" title="http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/forecast/defa ult.aspx?zone=WA018#Forecast" target="_blank"http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traff...) I'm afraid that this might be just like the winter of 01/02.

I won't be skiing this week. So what should I do this week?
Isaac

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Hold on a sec. Can you hear that? No, not that. The other thing. You don't hear it? You don't hear a bunch of tiny little voices saying "We are here! We are here!"?

Huh. Perhaps it's post dramatic stress syndrom from finals. Nah, my finals were a breeze. And a two hour math final never has fazed me. (Although I'm still not entirely sure how fast that plane in #9 was traveling.)

Maybe my ears aren't working right after going to Deck The Hall Ball. It was loud and fun, but Franz Ferdinand and The Killers - as well as numerous other rockers - wouldn't fly all the way to Seattle just to screw up my hearing. (Instead they came to a crowd of pot heads who just stood around. C'mon people! It's a MOSH PIT! Go stand in the back and eat your brownie while I dance around.)

I got it. This is that dream where all those little  snowflakes up at Stevens Pass keep reminding me that lifts will be running this Sunday and that I will be there to share their joy! Oh wait. I think that dream had sugar plum fairies somewhere. (Can sugar plum fairies ski? And if they do, can I get their phone number?)

It could be all those college faculty members outside the newspaper office protesting a certain cartoon we printed. Yeah, they're kinda mad about that. But that's only because our cartoonist went on some radio show and said something that has apparently pissed people off. So, my first task as the new EDITOR IN CHIEF: keep the college from taking away our rights to print controversial art. But wouldn't these protestors be shouting "Take away their funding" rather than "We are here"?

Hmmm. Perhaps I should blame the author of this storybook quote. Any takers? The winner gets a fresh snowball direct from the Central Cascades...

Ike

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The end is near! It's finally time for finals! All I have to do is show up for a Geography final that will only take a 1/2 hour bite out of Wednesday and then pass a 2 hour Math final on Thursday and I am FREE! Granted, I have to do a lot of work for the newspaper inbetween my two finals. We are doing a special issue entirely about the election season and it is entirely letters to the editor. Kinda cool; it's good to know that at least 30 people on this campus have inteligent thoughts and can back them up logically.

Time to go back in time.......bwooooooo......... I went Boise, Idaho this weekend to visit family. (It's not Boize, it's pronounced Boise!) My aunt had her birthday on Friday and my Grandma turned 69 on Sunday. My cousins (Angie and Christy) even happend to in be in town. Angie flys off on Tuesday to her new job as a private engligh teacher in South Korea and Christy just transfered from some university in Illinois to Boise State to be closer to home. And my Grandma is just as fun and goofy as ever.

Back to the future ....... wooooshhhhh ....... Thursday night I'm going to "Deck The Hall Ball" at the Key Arena with Will. It's about time I got out to see a concert. I'm really looking forward to seeing Modest Mouse and The Shins even though I haven't heard much of either; but what I have heard is pretty good.

And Saturday is the day when all will make sense again. I will be in my element; I will be up at Stevens Pass playing in the snow. Actually, I have instructor training for Bob Hall Ski School. I don't even know if the lifts will be running because there isn't that much snow yet, but I'm willing to hike.

And those lucky Ukranians get to vote again on December 26th. Go Orange Party!

Isaac

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I'm tired of talking about my day to day routine; today was quite similar to yesterday and tomorrow will probably be similar to today and less like yesterday (confusing isn't it). So here's what I've been following in the news:

The Ukranian Elections. I think these elections have piqued my interest because their voting system is almost as screwed up as ours. I think it is awesome that thousands of Ukranians have stormed the capital city of Kiev and have blocked government officials from entering government buildings; that's a real protest. If they are so pissed off about election fraud, how come so many American's haven't done similar protesting? Could it be that America doesn't have foreign witnesses watching our elections from the inside? The only reason we know of such fruad in the Ukraine is because there were foreign elections witnesses examening the process.

Bush hates salmon, loves 'nuculear' waste. To further prove that our president is not a friend of the Mother Nature and is a liar--"I guess you could say I'm a good steward"--he has recently approved a plan to reduce critical habitat for salmon by 80%. This includes 20 salmon runs here in the Northwest. Also, his administration is fighting an initiative that Washingtonians recently approved that would halt the dumping of nuclear waste at Hanford until some desperately needed cleanup is done. Ironically, Texas has a bunch of nuclear waste sites and has never been visited by salmon.

Washington wants Governor for Christmas. I still don't know who our next Governor will be. Dino Rossi has claimed a 42-vote victory in round two of counting, but the Democrats have until Friday to contest the outcome. What fun. It still baffles me that 'every vote counts' yet we can get three different election results within a month. "None of that fuzzy math now."

Well, those are the headlines for this issue of "The Daily Grind." Perhaps some day this site will actually be a updated daily. I hope that day never comes.

Don't work too hard,
Isaac

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