Saturday, December 22, 2007

Let's Ski

Yesterday was a fun day at work, because we went for skiing the whole day, as a part of a team building event. I carpooled with some other colleagues' and we set off to the Summit at Snoqualmie Pass early Friday morning. The agenda was to be there by 8:15am. When we reached, there was hot Starbucks Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Some of us were skiing while the others decided to snowboard. Most of us were beginners and were taking lessons.

The first step was to get the ski rentals. I found my shoe size finally and it took me ages to get it buckled. I felt so uncomfortable walking in them and was clumsy. We got our skis and proceeded with the lesson. The instructor was an old man named Jim and he was making it sound very easy. The first lesson was to learn to get the shoe into the ski and out. It was so difficult to do it. I used a ski pole most of the times to get out of the ski. Otherwise I convinced somebody else to help me. After a few more exercises, we were off with both skis. I could not even walk with them, let alone ski. I seemed to be skiing backwards most of the times and it was funny.

Skiing is so tiring ! After a lesson that lasted 1.5 hours, all of us were ready for lunch. The shoes were really tight by now and I just wanted to kick them off. Alas, all I could do was loosen it. After lunch and rest, we headed back to the 'magic carpet' area. This was basically an escalator which took beginners to a small slope, a prelude to the ski lift. I was struggling with the carpet and decided that ski lift was best avoided at my skill level.

I kept falling and it was so hard getting up with the skis and shoes. Sometimes I fell in such funny postures, that I was reminded of the comics I used to read. The snow was soft and powdery; a couple of times, I just lay in it and enjoyed the beauty around me. I was well prepared in terms of clothes; many people who came in jeans were in for a shock. It is not the best thing to wear for skiing !

Finally, it was time to head back. Getting the ski shoe off was harder than getting into them. I finally got them off and felt so free. I was so happy to back in my regular shoes. I had a fun day and so did most of my other colleagues. We headed back to the city and I was home by 5pm. This resort is very close to where I live and V and I have decided to take skiing lessons to make the most of it.

Today, all that remains of yesterday are aches and pains. As they say, no pain, no gain.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Resurrection

We decided to watch a movie last Friday, I was hoping to watch beowulf in 3D and was disappointed to learn that it was not available. So, we decided to watch ' the golden compass'. I din't like the movie, it was long and boring. As I had not read the books, there were many unanswered questions. Poor V almost dozed off.

Then, on Sunday, I found out that it was the last day of Beowulf in IMAX. The show was at 5:30pm and we reached just in time. It was fun watching the special effects in 3D. The movie was a tad too long for me.

After hearing a lot of raves about, Sleepless in Seattle, I was curious to watch it. So, when I saw it listed for free on cable TV, I decided to watch it. I dozed off after 10 minutes. It was incredibly boring. As long as that movie is available, nobody will be sleepless in seattle :-)

Today, I happened to watch the song, akele hain from QSQT. Aamir and Juhi looked very young in it. I was really surprised to see the 'spidey kiss' in this song. I wonder if the makers of Spider Man copied it from here or did QSQT copy from some other older Hollywood movie.

Thanks to my friend, A, for suggesting a new title for my blog.