My new skis!

So yes, I finally got a new cord so that I can connect my camera to my computer. And the first thing I took a picture of? My new Fat-ypus Emotion skis, of course! Here's what they look like - okay, it's not the best looking picture, but you get the idea... I really have them.

I am so excited to bust them out (and a bit nervous too - the guys keep telling me these will be like no other skis I've ever had). It took me a while to get used to the Rossignol B3's last year, so I'm expecting the same here. Actually, I'm a bit chicken to try them out... I hate crashing the first run of the season!

I also have my new touring bindings on them (Marker Baron Ski Bindings) and am definitely psyched to try those out. Dragging my stuff up the hill last year was a big pain, so I'm really glad that I have all the right gear this season.

I'm actually in Whistler as I write this, but I forgot my ski pass, so tomorrow will be spent looking for an apartment/room rather than skiing. A few weeks ago, I talked about how my sister had been looking for a place in Whistler and how difficult it had been for her.

And now I'm the one stuck posting sad little wanted ads on Craigslist and staying up all night waiting for the new online version of the Pique's classified ads to go live, But it will all be worth it, because I am moving to Whistler!

That's right, I landed a sweet, full-time, permanent job in Whistler! I now have all winter (well, when I'm not working) to ski my little heart out!! So stay tuned for updates on everything skiing, and everything Whistler.

Where did Warren go? - A short review of Warren Miller's new movie, "Children of Winter"

A few weeks ago, two of my girlfriends and I went to the new Warren Miller movie, "Children of Winter", at the Queen Elizabeth theatre in Vancouver. I'd gone to the movie screenings before, but always in Halifax. First thing I noticed that was different? There were lots of reps from companies and ski hills set up in the lobby. In fact, everyone who went got a 2-for-1 ski pass for Whistler-Blackcomb!

After wandering around the lobby for a while and entering every contest we could find, we went into the theatre and took our seats. The other thing different from Halifax: in Vancouver, it is apparently a tradition to take all the papers you were handed, turn them into paper airplanes, and try and hit the stage with them. Seriously, I have never seen so many paper airplanes in my life!

After a few successful flights and a lot of nasty crashes, the movie started. I'm a huge ski movie fan, and I was so excited to watch this one. But one thing that bugs me - when did Warren Miller stop narrating the movies? This film was narrated by Jonny Mosely, who is an amazing gold medal-winning Olympic athlete and who really helped elevate the sport of freestyle skiing. But you know what? He's kind of dry to listen to...

Anyway, the first half of the movie was good, with some nice powder scenes and some good park skiing. And then there was this (very long) segment with Jason Biggs (yes, the actor from American Pie), one of the guys from the Barenaked Ladies, and a few other musicians. It showed them hanging out in a ski town in New England, chilling, enjoying the winter, and playing random concerts at small ski-town bars. At first, I thought it was kind of cool. And then the segment kept going and going and going... give me some big mountain skiing!

And then what I was waiting for. My favourite part of the whole movie. A few guys, including Derek Foose (who was at the Vancouver screening), went to Iceland and toured around by boat. They would look up into the mountains, spot a sick line, hike up all day, and ski back down to the boat. Wow. I was just blown away! Wouldn't we all love to do that!!

So there you have it; my personal, very biased, quite short review of the movie. Now, who's ready to go skiing?!?

*Photo credit: me! Skier: M. Beliveau

Teaching Old(er Than Me) Dogs New Tricks

The other day, at my company's weekly meeting, I was trying convince everyone that we should add an RSS feed to a portion of our website. Very quickly, I realised that no one was familar with the term "RSS", they didn't know how to use an aggregator such as Google reader, and they didn't read blogs. Huh.

After taking time during the meeting to show them my own use, I sent out an email, hoping to encourage people to start reading blogs and using Google reader. Eventually, I'm hoping to sell them on the RSS feed of our site, and hopefully waaaay down the road, convince everyone that our company should have its own blog. Seriously, this feels like I'm trying to push veggies at a group of fat kids brought up on fast food burgers and fries.

Here's the basis of the email I sent:

What: Depending on the source, RSS either means “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary” and is indicated by a common logo: . An aggregator or online reader is used to accumulate the feed from various blogs and news sites and then display all of the information in one place.

Why: Once set up, you can take 5 minutes a day to browse through the information on the reader; I like to take a few minutes every morning to see what’s going on. It’s a quick way to stay up-to-date, and might provide an interesting tidbit of information to icebreak / share / discuss in your next meeting.

How: There are many online readers, but I find that Google Reader works quite well.   As you saw in this morning’s meeting, I have set up a company account. This is how you access it:   Go to www.google.com/reader and enter the password info I already sent out.   I’ve organized the feeds into folders. You can view content in a few different ways:

1. When you first log in, you are in the “home” view. This provides an overview of some of the newest content. I don’t usually bother with this view.
2. You can click on a folder (such as “IT Blog); now you can view all unread (i.e. new) content in the folder. I find this to be a great way to quickly see what’s new.
3. You can click on an individual feed (such as “Techvibes Global Events” located in the “IT Blog” folder). I use this option for blogs / feeds that I really like. I get to browse through the newest entries for the particular feed, and then scroll through older entries.

Who: You are more than welcome to use the company account. However, one of the helpful features of Google Reader is that it bolds the title of any blogs / feeds that have unread content and indicates the number of unread items. If everyone uses the same account, we will be unable to tell at a glance if there is new information. I encourage you to use the company account until you get the hang of it, and then create your own account.

Now what? If you’re interested in learning more, drop me an email. I can give you info about how to find and add new blogs to follow, share with you the wealth of information that can be found in the comments section (often the readers contribute more than the original author), and show you how to set up newsfeeds for specific keywords.

I thought it was a pretty well-explained email. But no one has looked through the blogs and news feeds that I set up on Google Reader. No one. It doesn't take much time. There's a lot of info there. Why wouldn't they at least check it out?

(Photo: dragonaria on www.sxc.hu)

Five Things Meme

So apparently I've been tagged by Michelle Evans, who I just had the opportunity to meet in person the other day. (By the way, that is an out-of-focus picture of me from prom night 10 years ago. I've edited everyone else of the photo for their own sake.) So here's my answers:

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago (hmmm... 1998? Five years ago would have been so much more interesting!):

1. Graduating from New Glasgow High School
   
2. Working as a cashier at the West Side Sobeys store
   
3. Preparing to go to Acadia University and take a Bachelor of Science (which would later turn into a Bachelor of Music)
   
4. Enjoying an amazing Nova Scotia fall
5. Trying to figure it all out (and I'm still doing this, ten years later...)

5 Things on my to-do list today:

1. Use my new Swiffer / vacuum to clean my dirty apartment floors
   
2. Call my Halifax friend
   
3. Figure out if the new battery I bought for my portable phone actually works
   
4. Do some exercise
5. Practice putting on and taking off my new skins
   

5 Snacks I like (warning: I like healthy snacks):

1. Raspberries, vanilla yogourt, and granola
2. Apple slices and peanut butter
3. Carrots and hummus
4. A banana
5. Dark chocolate

5 Things I would do if I was a millionnaire:

1. Go on a round-the-world ski trip
   
2. Buy my own house
   
3. Bring my whole family here and show them why I love Vancouver so much
4. Go to the Selkirk Ski Resort and Management Operations program at Selkirk COllege
5. Hire a housecleaner

5 Places I’ve lived:

1. New Glasgow, NS
2. St. George, ON
   
3. Sun Peaks, BC
   
4. Montreal, QC
5. Vancouver, BC

5 Jobs I have had:

1. Ski instructor at lots of hills
2. Grocery store cashier
3. Camp councilor
4. Marketing manager
5. Product development manager at a chocolate company

5 People I tag (don't really know too many people personally who blog, but here are 5 of my fave blogs):

1. Homeboy's World of Skiing
2. The Speedy Descend
3. Lou Dawson's Backcountry Skiing Blog
4. Levite Chronicles
5. Teczcape - An Escape to Food