Life is Life

Well its been a while since I have updated this slice of the Internet that I can call my own. So here's the update on my life. No real grand adventures to report. Just sitting in Salt Lake city watching the mountains turn from an array of fall colors to a brilliant white, my favorite color for the hills to wear. Who says you can't wear white after labor day.  Skiing has started slow and seems that the storm cycle that makes UT famous is starting to hit hard and settle in, thanks you old man winter or could we thank mother nature (I'll leave that for an other post). At this very moment it is nuking outside my window. Nuking is a technical term used widely by ski bums to describe an event of snow which falls heavy and relentlessly at one time. "Dude bro, its totally nuking outside. Lets hit the hill tomorrow to shed the gnar." (said in a surfer style voice) We ski bums have been skiing the groomers in preparation for the type of day that tomorrow is forecasted to be. It will be really hard for me not to bring out my big sticks, skis, the ones that I have built by hand. 

You as I write this I begin to realize that I have lied about not having any adventures. Work is always an adventure this time of year. During the holidays we work longer shifts, in order to swap holidays each year for the two shifts that are in the field. This year I worked on Thanksgiving. It is by far my favorite holiday to spend in the field. Second Nature sends out about 26 pounds of turkey, and all the fixings. This year each staff gathered a few kids to help cook each part of the meal. I was fortunate to have my friend and coworker Shannon come out to the field and spend the day in my group. Shannon and I are the last two employees left from our training group which took place in May 2007. And Shannon just got a promotion to assistant field director, which leaves just me in the field from my training.  I win! So I have just finished my last 10 day shift. There is about 6-10 inches of snow in the field area and winter is in full swing. Temperatures during the day ranged from 15-33 and 10-5 at night.  The biggest part of life at work is just surviving. We are focused on collecting wood, drying boots and feet, eating and staying sane. There is little need for external therapy, just living is therapy enough. This week was stranger than most for me. It is approaching the end of football season and the New York Giants have been, like always, on a roller coaster this season. I went into the field last Saturday and came out this past Monday. Missing two key games. What made it strange is that I usually only miss one game a week. 

My job has many perks. On of these perks is our schedule, 8 days on and then 6 days off. The time in the field my front country, civilization / real world, life stops. There is no phone, no email, no skiing or news of the fresh snow that has fallen. We also have eight straight days to be with the students and see their patterns develop. On the flip side, in my off time, 6 days, my work life is not there. No kids, no cold (if I choose to stay indoors), no having to dig a hole to poop in. I can travel where I want and take two whole days to get there and back while still having time to spend where I'm end up to enjoy without feeling rushed. If looked only at this angle the schedule is flippin sweet. And there is another angle...........

The angle of shorten year, in the last 30 days I have spent 20 of them in the field. Ski season is only 70 days long, resort time, and having a relationship with anyone is difficult. Things are missed, passed over due to unawareness of the date, or discussions with significant others is postpone due to work and travel. I once went a whole month with out talking about an incident with somebody. 

The reasons why we, all the field staff, are all willing to deal and cope with these challenges defiantly differ. And I am hard pressed to say that the reward of making a difference in at least some kids lives is not a motivating factor. So till I am unable to handle the weather, the kids and pooping in a hole I will be out there letting Life be Life. 

Let it snow and feel free to come out to UT for a visit and a ski.