Snowboarding, risotto making and apartment-rearranging have left my muscles tired though happy for the exertion and adventure. Toss in some 2009 adventure planning and quality time with new and old friends and you have the makings of a well-rounded and sweet weekend. Highpoints were definitely the Supper Club and Axamer Lizum…
Zero visibility was more fun that it sounds but after only a few runs (and a few glorious wipeouts) I called it a day. Im glad to have broken the first-run-of-the-season cherry but Im not hard core enough to pretend like riding in a blizzard is my bag…sunshine and fresh powder are ample enough simultaneous events here so it should be no problem to repeat…only with view and sunglasses.
The Supper Club (my unofficial name for it) was 6 of us at Beate and Ushi’s flat each throwing down the gauntlet with a homecooked masterpiece. My Nikon got drunk in a puddle right off the bat so the whole night was documented in low-fi format on my phone…The food was fantastic and, better than that, the peeps rule. By far, one of my favorite nights in Austria so far. Take a click here to see the album…
As for the house-rearranging…stay tuned for more on that. It would appear as though my apartment will be officially moved into my the New Year which means there’s no more excuses not to finally warm my house and have some peeps over.
The snow in the Alps today was totally amazing…I wish you could smell it…
…without traction theres no movement and without movement there’s no momentum to carry on.
Those words of wisdom, along with some other beauties, came out of my mouth tonight and it was somewhere shortly after, “sometimes you have to get sick to get well again” that it occured to me that I might just actually know what im talking about. Sometimes, that is. Certainly not always but today, at least, I did. Working in a big company it’s easy to surrender to the flow of politics sometimes and lose your perspective on what is and what should never be. Acknowledging that there are some things bigger than you that you should not dare to change while maintaining a healthy dose of idealisim (and balls) is sometimes easier said than done.
The 3 weeks that I spent at home in quiet contemplation taught me how to live again…I cook dinner again, do the dishes, eat vitamins, drink tea and have no fear that live food will turn blue and fuzzy in my refridgerator. The reinstating of this normal, human habit has, with it, restored a sense of balance and normalcy to what was previoulsy a pretty wacky, bachelorette lifestyle. Canned peas for dinner and 12 hours straight in fornt of an iMac isn’t the stuff of legends, I don’t think. So now I’m all whole and healthy and, as a result, much more aware of the other aspects of my life that are in need of a feng shui master….some chi polishing or whatever the fuck you do that gets chi flowing instead of making a life wedgie that you spend all your time trying to pick. Attention naturally flows to the next largest slice of the pie that is my life, work. I’m on the cusp of something and feeling like there are opportunities to make some stuff happen. I could be dillusional but I could also be catching a wave…either possibility still offers the opportunity for liberation or wipe out so I guess it doesnt really matter so long as there is forward momentum. Im seriously thinking about my desires and finally aware of the concept of being careful what I wish for…
Fresh mountain air in my lungs this weekend…sunshine on my hair…gluwine on my tounge and a genuine appreciation for my health and uniquely snowy situation…
Without friction theres no traction. Without traction theres no motion. Without motion theres no momentum.
The moral of the story is that its okay to rub up against things, bump into people, agree, disagree and see what develops. Its how we grow.
“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” ~ Chinese Proverb
I’m not sure why it’s not my first instinct to heal myself with home cooked food and a warm, cozy house but for one reason or another, it isn’t. Perhaps so many years in Manhattan with delivered dumplings and a one room flat warmed by the screen of my iMac desensitized me from reality and I am just now slowly coming back into the fold. I’ve been sick for a few weeks now and Im in touch with doctors, getting lots of sleep, taking my medicine and driking tons of water. Why not make some chicken soup instead of opening up that crappy can of salty, canned crap?
Maybe it’s a nature versus nurture thing or a habit topic…I’m really not sure. What I do know is that I have been a fine cook in my day and I derive great joy from making delicious treats but what I don’t know is why it’s not my instinct to do it more often. Last night I got an email back from my Dr. Aunt and in addition to having me investgate one more possible cause of my current ailment she suggested chicken soup. In the land of Knödel and Goulash, I replied back, “Chicken soup doesnt really happen in these parts but I’ll find something like it.” Her apt reply was, “Buy a chicken, onion, carrot and celery. Add water and boil.” It’s embarassing that it didn’t even occur to me to MAKE chicken soup and that realization, alone in my house this morning are why Im waxing philosophical about habits and my lifestyle.
While cleaning my organic, free-range chicken and cutting some vegetables I picked up acoss the way at the Markthalle, it occured to me that I have some opportunities to take better care of myself and I think I’m gonna start now.
“I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” ~Julia Child
So I’ve been off the radar sleeping and watching TONS of tv trying to rest while the war that is being fought in my sinuses and wherever sorts itself out. I had believed that tomorrow was my day for a ‘triumphant return to the world’ but my doctor just told me that was misguided. Direct orders consisted of: go to the pharmacy, go home, stay there. Yup. It seems as though I’m still sick. I’ll spare you the details but my blood is being tested for another shitty problem and I’ve been directed to a specialist for some other poking and prodding.
I’m not freaking out yet but I am feeling bad about all the work that is mine that, by now, is sliding onto my dear colleagues. Not an ideal situation but this one is out of my hands. I would hate it if the verdict was that I have an allergy to New York City.
Since Im housebound and pretty uninteresting I don’t have much to share. I did snap a couple iPhone pix on my way home through the Christkindlmarkt. It was snowing when I woke up this morning and sunny a few minutes ago on my walk making a lovely combination of snow-capped Alps and beautiful blue skies. Take a peek…
i am more than in love with my new phone. here’s a 1974ish peek at what my neighborhood in Innsbruck looks like today…
Fingers crossed this resolves itself soon. I am beginning to go nutty over here. Here’s a tune called “Sick Day” by Fountains of Wayne…
…with cats. This is what’s happening on Kirschentalgasse today. On a sidenote, this is the first ever post from my iphone using 2 cool apps called ShoZu and CameraBag. If I could ‘high five’ the camerabag “helga” app, I would. Where there is Orange, there will be 2Bean…hooray!
While cleaning my organic, free-range chicken and cutting some vegetables I picked up acoss the way at the Markthalle, it occured to me that I have some opportunities to take better care of myself and I think I’m gonna start now.
Fingers crossed this resolves itself soon. I am beginning to go nutty over here. Here’s a tune called “Sick Day” by Fountains of Wayne…
