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Being Flakey

Sometime after it stops snowing each year, I recount all our snowboarding escapades. But did it ever start snowing last season? Now, with the 130 inches of the 2018-2019 season softening the disappointment of 2017-2018, let us remember the pitiful powder that came before.

Waiting for snow during Utah’s last ski season was like waiting for a snail to complete an Ironman. Jason and I hit the slopes for the first time near the end of January on a base of only 59 inches. Pathetic. A storm had just dropped about 10 inches on Brighton, so we took advantage of those meager flecks. It hadn’t snowed enough to bring in the crowds, but it was enough powder to make the mountain agreeable.

perfectly acceptable
Our second day on the slopes was entirely adequate.

We didn’t go out in February. There were a couple decent storms during that month, but it was always ungodly windy during and after them. When we went again in mid-March the base depth was only 68 inches. Although there was no new fluff, the pleasant 40-something weather pulled in the snow-starved crowds. We had to vulture to find a parking spot in Brighton’s lot. The snow was peppy despite being ancient; it was forgiving and fast.

lift drench
It’s a strange sensation having streams of frigid water run down your snow pants and pool in your boots.

Near the beginning of April, we ventured to Brighton again. Even though we went on a Saturday, the resort was the deadest we’ve ever seen it. The chair lifts were mostly empty. Why you ask? Rain. Not just a few drops here and there but a complete downpour that didn’t let up for hours. The showers only transformed into flakes above about 10,0000 feet, close to the top of the mountain. We boarded approximately an hour and 45 minutes, our shortest stay on the slopes ever. We got drenched in that little span of time. Our gloves were so soaked on the inside that they felt like dumbbells. They had to be dried out using hair dryers over a series of days. We had rivulets streaming down our legs into our boots and finished with sopping crotches. The rain-topped snow behaved odd. It was slow and sticky in spots at the top and extremely slushy at the bottom. The ground made slurping noises as we slid across it like your annoying coworker probing for the last dribbles of his Big Gulp. The bizarreness of the situation gave us a good laugh though, and we loved having the mountain all to ourselves.

A snow crow?
Jason called this pose the “soggy scarecrow.”

The last day we boarded was the closing day of the season. We have to get at least one good day of spring boarding in every year, and this was it. The weather was perfect, in the mid-50s with plenty of sunshine. The parking lot was completely full, but the slopes didn’t have many people on them. Party in the parking lot? Around 3:30, half an hour before closing, the Snake Creek lift lines expanded more than we have ever seen, but no one was on the runs. Apparently, all those folks were trying to reach some celebration at the top. I was trying to reach some snow at the top. It was a nice day to end the season on.

heaps of sunshine
Heaps of snow can be replaced by heaps of sunshine in the recipe for a delicious boarding day.

Chione was displeased by our sporadic visits to her wintery shrine during the 2017-2018 season. Only going boarding four times is shameful and the least amount we’ve done in probably a decade. Fortunately, the current season has got the powder power that 2017-2018 lacked. I will cover that another time, hopefully less than a year from now.

Rachel March 24, 2019 No Comments

The Risk of Sundance

Jason and I attended the Sundance Film Festival again this February. Surprises are frequent at this festival and one of the best things about it.

Here are some examples of the types of exclamations of surprise you may encounter at Sundance:

  • Boy, that random show we picked was way better than expected.
  • Boy, I didn’t know that movie was going to be about Nazi necrophilia.
  • Boy, I got to meet all those actors I never thought I would.
  • Boy, I learned a lot about that controversial subject I didn’t even know was controversial before today.

Every year, we make a list of the movies that sound interesting to us out of the over 100 screening at the festival. This list has to be absurdly long because we often don’t get tickets to our first, second, or even tenth pick. This year, it was more like twelfth. Despite having to dig down into our list to find available tickets, we thoroughly enjoyed all four of the shows we saw. Some of these films have been making waves since their debut at Sundance.

The Edge of Democracy, a documentary, takes the political turmoil and corruption plaguing Brazil to a personal level. Admittedly, I knew little about the issues currently facing that country before watching this film, and I didn’t realize how recently Brazil was run by a military dictatorship. The similarities between the exploitations happening in Brazil and the ones occurring in the US are alarming. Petra Costa, the filmmaker, was on hand afterward for an interesting Q&A.

grains in the gloom
One thing that’s never surprising at Sundance is how horrible the pictures turn out thanks to low light and no flash.

Cold Case Hammarskjold, another documentary, starts out a murder investigation and then takes a disturbing turn into a much broader treachery. The director, Mads Brugger, won the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary. This film is now stunning crowds with the ghastly conspiracy it unravels, amid excellent reviews. We got to enjoy the complete shock of the show’s twists as we were amongst the first to see it in the world. One of the producers was on hand following our screening to answer questions.

Blinded by the Light is the unlikely story of a second-generation Pakistani immigrant living in the city of Luton, England in 1987. That teenager, Javed, becomes fixated on Bruce Springsteen’s tunes. This movie turns into a bit of a musical with all the fancy foot maneuvering and dramatic darting that go along with that. It’s nostalgic, warm, and occasionally a little cheesy. Oddly enough, its unlikely story isn’t that unlikely. It’s based on the memoirs of a real British journalist that’s seen Springsteen perform 150 times. Blinded by the Light premiered at Sundance and was quickly bought for $15 million, one of the biggest purchases Sundance has ever seen. The director, Gurinder Chadha, is the filmmaker behind Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice.

Troop Zero is a cute, wistful show that will be appreciated by anyone that ever felt like an outcast as a child. I think that’s most of us. It’s a touching reminder that there are more people that care about us and support us than we realize, even if we aren’t the “cool” kid in town.

Sundance is full of surprises. This year, they were of the pleasant variety, but that isn’t always the case. Good or bad, the unexpected adds to Sundance’s independent atmosphere. Taking a few risks is part of the festival experience. Those surprises keep us coming back year after year.

Rachel March 13, 2019 No Comments

Christmas: Epitome or Excrement?

No holiday elicits polarized feelings like Christmas. To some, it is the epitome of what a holiday should be. To others, it is a piece of crap wrapped in pine-scented wrapping paper. I find it amusing, genial, and nostalgic when handled appropriately. This year, it fell mostly into the non-poo category for Jason and me.

crunch in the mouth
We ordered this giant croquembouche from our favorite bakery. We struggled to eat all 60+ creampuffs but mostly succeeded.

I remember those unencumbered days when I’d have Christmas presents wrapped for Jason before Thanksgiving; I didn’t want the tree to be up for a moment without gifts underneath it. I’ve remedied that issue in recent years by not erecting our tree until embarrassingly late. Now, when I don’t wrap any presents until right before Christmas, no one is the wiser… except the whole world since I just tattled on myself.

a Christmas candid
I don’t think our family members adequately appreciate the perks of having a photographer among them.

Don’t let the lateness of my presenting mislead you though, I don’t believe in just throwing random present at people. I generally put thought and time into what I give. Amongst my gift projects this Christmas, I made a nerdy tree skirt for my sister-in-law even though Jason technically had her name. I also went through hundreds of pages of archived Nintendo Power Magazine searching for the article that featured Jason and his grandma years ago. This proved futile as he was never actually highlighted in this publication. The myths that become part of our childhood memories are many. Don’t revisit yours with the realities of adulthood or you will only be disappointed.

dessert edifices
We made gingerbread structures with my sister’s family on Christmas Eve.

Jason did not fail Father Christmas with his gifting. For me, he tied seven handwritten poems to seven presents with connected themes and recited these rhymes as I opened the gifts. He read me everything from Lord Byron to Data’s “Ode to Spot” and even an original composition. I think I’ll keep that boy.

a peace of the puzzle
This puzzle occupied the kids while the adults unwrapped in peace.
for trees with taste
I customized this tree skirt to fit my sister-in-law’s fan tastes.

For all the nieces and nephews on my side, we created a puzzle collage highlighting the outing options they could choose between as their present from us. They had to put together this 252-piece puzzle before we would discuss any plans with them. It proved, as expected, the perfect undertaking to keep them busy and focused while the adults unwrapped gifts from each other. They picked the Labyrinth for their activity, and we challenged ourselves in its corridors a week later.

I love you!
I gave Jason gifts of love in all five languages.

The Labyrinth wasn’t our only family-fed excursion in the days following Christmas. We took one nephew to the Museum of Ancient Life and played laser tag at Boondocks with a couple others. These happenings were made easier by our lack of regular obligations. Over the holidays, Jason and I didn’t work for more than a week. What was not made easier by our lack of obligations was our sleep schedule. We quickly started staying up between 2:00 and 4:30 AM every night. My body managed this sleep shift until the last couple days of it… and then it went batty. My eyeballs hurt for a week. That’s what you get Rachel for making bad slumber choices.

presenting poems
Jason’s present poems were touching. I laughed a lot and cried a little.

Christmas, you may be misunderstood and overstated, but you are definitely not a piece of dung decked in lights and topped with a candy cane.

Rachel March 10, 2019 1 Comment
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