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

7 reasons other girls want to #### my skis!

*

I just got my new Fat-ypus** Emotion skis. And they are the bomb. In fact, they are so much the bomb, that all the other girls wanna #### them. Know why? (***)

1. They always look good and match whatever I'm wearing
   
2. My skis are a great listener and never try to "fix" my problems
3. They're ballsy
4. The don't leave the seat up - well, okay, of course they don't
5. The Fat-ypus Emotion's are long - really long - 174cm, to be exact
   
6. They're wide - because we all know that's what really counts
7. They've got a perma-stiffy - it's going to take all my womanly strength to ride the hell outta them!
   

* This pic is taken from the Fat-ypus website. I really have the skis, I just can't find the cord that connects my camera to my computer.

** I have no affiliation with the Fat-ypus company (although it would be really cool if I did...)

*** #### means "ride", you perves!

Writing lists of lists

I am a notorious list-writer. I have a day planner where I write down everything I need to do, and have sometimes been known to write down things I've already completed just for the joy of crossing them off!

I make lists for groceries, meals for the week, things-to-do, and now that I come up to Whistler every weekend, I write a list of things to bring with me. The funny thing is that the lists look pretty similar from week to week, but I always throw them away, and it seems like a waste of paper. And every time I've tried a digital organizer, it ends up crashing and I lose everything. Plus it's just so fun to cross off those done items. Have I mentioned I'm extremely goal-oriented and love to complete things?

So I'm not sure how to reduce paper, while still having something to cross off the list. Plus, since I make a new list each time, there's always something I forget. I've started using a spreadsheet for meals, but I wonder what I could use for everything else? Is anyone else a fanatical list-maker like I am?

Keeping in touch...

It seems like there's so many ways to keep in touch with people. There's my cell phone, and home phone (both of which have voice mail), email, LinkedIn, and Facebook (and lots of other online tools that I don't even bother to use). But even with all these things, or perhaps because of them, I never seem to have enough time to reach out to all the important people in my life.

By the time I get home from work, I usually have some activity going on, or just want to fit in a bike around the seawall. And by the time all that is over, it is waaaay to late to call all you wonderful people on the East Coast. And the weekends seem to fly by too...

I like to make sure I have a good chunk of time when I make phone calls, because we talk so rarely. And group emails seem so impersonal, but sending individual ones requires a whole evening! Any suggestions about how to keep in touch with my very important peeps?

Why does skiing require so much gear?

I'd like to do some more off-piste skiing this year (nothing too crazy, so don't worry Mom!) and I also want to be safe, which means having the right gear. I already have a beacon and shovel, but that's not near enough stuff (and I also don't have a bag to put the shovel in...). So I went to www.backcountry.com the other day and ordered the following stuff:

• Marker Baron Ski Bindings, small (who knew I had small feet?) to go on the new Fat-ypus skis
  
• Alpinist elle Climbing Skins, Women's medium (so pretty!)
• Black Diamond QuickDraw (sounds like it's from a wild west movie) Guide Probe 300, burnt orange
• Gregory Targhee Backpack, orange (to match the probe, of course. And no, I've never heard of this company either, but it looks like a great bag! And yes, that's a picture of the bag up top)

And that's it. I know there's more stuff I could have ordered, like a rope and crampons, but I think I'm off to a good start! I'll let you know how the new gear works out once I get a chance to try it all out (come on Whistler opening day, Nov. 27... hurry up and get here!). And I'm also going to have to practice putting the skins on and off, so I'll share that whole sticky mess as well.

Let's get ready to ski!

So I've ordered new skis (aren't they pretty?) from Fat-ypus (also *borrowed* the picture from the site). The skis are called E-motion and according to the website, they are:

"Used by our female team athletes on the World Freeskiing tour, it handles the most aggressive style of skiing without a problem, yet it's lightweight and with enough sidecut that it is easy to turn and even your intermediate skier will love it".

Sounds like fun!!

My past skis have included Rossignol Saphire's, Head Monster's, and most recently my bf's old Rossignol B3's with new bindings. Everytime I get a new pair, I think they are the best skis ever. When I had the Saphires, I was on the highschool racing team and thought they were great for going fast and whipping around gates.

Then I moved to Sun Peaks, where I worked as a ski instructor. I decided that I wanted to take my CSIA level II and someone suggested it might be time to get some new skis. So I tested out a whole bunch until bam! The Monsters! They were so awesum and I was so excited and happy with them (and I passed my level II!!)

Last year, I took over the B3's. The first time I wore them, I had talked the whole gondola ride up about how much I love skiing, how I worked as a ski instructor, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, two guys from the gondola decided to join me. I put on the skis, pushed off, took the first turn... and crashed into a family of eight standing at the top of the hill. Seriously, we're talking bowling pins. But after that embarassing start to the season, I fell in love with my new fat, long skis, and they quickly replaced the Monsters.

And now? Is it good-bye B3's? Stay tuned... I'll let you know at the end of November (Whistler opens Nov. 27th!!)

Wonder how tent sales are doing in Whistler?

Okay, so living in a tent in Whistler for the winter might not be the best idea, but the housing situation there is definitely dire. I spent the weekend helping my sister look for a place in Whistler, and we're still unsuccessful.

There are a small number of new "housing for rent" postings on Craigslist each day and double to triple that amount in "housing wanted" postings. So first, there seem to be way more people in need of a place to live than actual rooms, and second, many of the places available are being advertised through word of mouth. As one guy said, "why would I bother posting on Craigslist and having to deal with 30 or 40 calls when I could just put the word out to my friends?"

In fact, the housing situation is so serious that the Whistler Housing Authority is considering setting up containers to solve the problem.

Something definitely needs to be done, especially with the Olympics coming next winter. Many owners of condos / houses that are normally rented out seem to be planning on renting for only the Olympic months. Afterall, why rent out for the early winter to a bunch of young, seasonal workers who may wreck the place, when you could easily earn more in rent during the Olympics than during the entire winter season? I hope someone on the organizing committee has it all figured out...

Introducing O...

O is a husky-lab mix and is an adorable puppy. When we first got him, he was more baby than puppy. But he has grown so much over the past few weeks and is now a full-fledged puppy, complete with iron-strength jaws (a.k.a. he bites a lot).

He's gotten pretty used to the peeing-outside-routine, although he did soak the comforter the other night. No more lounging on the people bed!

I love his puppy smell and enjoy cuddling with him, but am definitely looking forward to biking / running / walking with him once he gets bigger. And the ultimate plan is to train him to run along while we ski, which is totally cool.

Below, check out a video of O playing with his favourite ball. It's so cute!!

Time to Twitter

So I joined up with Twitter a few months ago and have slowly gotten into the flow of things. Although I only have a small group of people I follow (and followers), I've gotten used to reading people's posts and have found some great links and new people to follow. The majority of content I listen / comment on is related to either skiing (come on winter!!) or marketing.

But today, I took a big step into the Twitter world. I created an account for the company I work for and listed myself as the current user. Then I started searching for people who seemed involved in technology, both in Vancouver and around North America, and took some time to judiciously add them as people I'm following. And now I feel like a kid at Christmas - wondering if I'll end up with presents or just a lump of coal. Will people add me? Will they talk to me? So far, I've had one person add "me" a.k.a. the company. I've actually had to sign out to help fight the urge to check for new posts.

My first marketing conference!

Tomorrow I'm going to the IMC (Internet Marketing Conference). Looking at the agenda, I can tell it's going to be two days full of lots of information. I actually attempted to print out the entire agenda, but stopped when I realized it would be 21 pages long!

I'm a few months into my new position as marketing manager, and have been doing a lot of research into what the company's online prescence should look like. Tools I'm enjoying using are delicious, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google reader, Google analytics, Twitter, and now blogger!

Up until now I've been using my own accounts and preferences (such as setting up RSS feeds in Google reader to track Twitter activity for the terms "skiing" and "Whistler). However, I think it's just about time to get my ideas up and running for the company. Plans include a blog, Twitter account, and more interesting content for the company website. As well, the website needs tweaking (I hate thatword...) in regards to keywords, subject content, and outgoing links.

I have found a lot of good websites, e-books, and blogs and feel like I'm backed with lots of research. And after the conference, hopefully I'll have more ideas and confidence so that I can actually put my plans into action!

Recycling - Why is Vancouver lagging behind?

One great thing about Nova Scotia is the province's extensive recyclying program. You name it, it can be recycled, including food and organic waste (which is actually collected in big green bins and composted). Not only that, every town, city, and organisation is on board. Whether you are at the mall, the airport, or walking around downtown Halifax, there are separate receptacles for paper, bottles, and compostable materials.

Over here on the West Coast, it's a very different story! Sure, they recycle paper and bottles, but to recycle all those plastic bags I get from the stores (despite being very good about bringing my reusable bags, I still end up with plastic) I have to drop them off in the bin at the grocery store. It can be very difficult to find a recycling bin for bottles on the street or at a public place, and absolutely impossible to find a way to recycle papers. The worst, however, is what happens to the recycling bin in the lobby of my building, where residents throw their junk mail. The other day, I discovered that the concierge in my building takes the recycling bin and THROWS THE CONTENTS IN THE GARBAGE! Disgraceful!

There is hope, however. The latest issue of Granville (a city magazine with an eco twist) contains an article entitled, "Green Box Envy", which addresses the issue of Vancouver's reluctance to adopt an organic recycling program. The author examines the program that exists in different areas of Canada, and talks about the strides that Vancouver has taken so far in establishing a working program.

Bottom line: it's time for individuals to take action. Recycle everything you can, try to ensure that when you recycle it doesn't just get put in the garbage, and send emails to your local councillors telling that you want an organic recycling program now!

Jill of all trades?

Skiing and music have always been my two biggest interests. However, during high school and university, I always tried out lots of different activities, and since moving to Vancouver, I've gotten back into the routine of being really busy most of the time. I have band practice, flute ensemble, skiing (in the winter), yoga class, and I recently bought a bike and have been biking the seawall a few days a week.

I also decided to take tennis lessons a few months ago, which was really fun, and have since started playing once a week with other semi-beginners I met in class. Last night I played with a friend who actually plays on a pretty regular basis, and wow! There were balls whizzing by me, and it was all I could do to whack them back across the net. I really like playing and would like to get better, but I wonder if I have the time? Is it better to try out lots of different things and be kind of good at them, or be really good at just one activity / sport?

Very first post!

I'm so excited to write my very first blog entry. As the title suggests, I'm now a full-fledged West Coast Chickie, and have been living in BC for one whole year! Having spent most of my time living in Nova Scotia (with the exception of a few summers in Ontario, a season at a shi resort in BC, and a year in Montreal) I am loving the fact that I now live somewhere that combines my two great loves: the ocean and the mountains.

It has been a great summer full of swimming, suntanning (not too much though, we all know how bad it is), and even a little bit of kayaking. Now it's starting to feel a lot like fall, and I'm looking forward to skiing again!