Where did winter go? And other year end's thoughts.

I tried to make myself a goal to blog more often. However, I admit that I haven't been doing a good job of this.

In my last post, I expressed my happiness that the long brutal winter of 2014-2015 was done.

Now I am wondering where winter is. Don't get me wrong, sunshine and warmth are great things. But I believe in moderation :) Also, I want to go skiing. Badly.

No real major trips this year after the Salt Lake City trip which I talked about in March. I spent some time in the Adirondacks with Ben's family. Thanks to the lack of internet and phone service, I was able to disconnect completely and forget about the outside world.

(Note: I did not take any of these photos in the Adirondacks)

 

Calm, peaceful mornings on Fourth Lake

Had some tubing action. I asked for Ben's dad (boat captain) to increase the intensity. He did.

Roasting marshmallows over the campfire one evening

The only other major trip of note was visiting Ben's parents in Asheville, NC for Thanksgiving. What a great town - yes, it may be almost too hipster for me... but the beer... the food... and the great scenery. There is a lot to love.

A whole site dedicated to sour/barrel aged beers? Awesome. I love the Funkatorium.

Asheville is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, right along the scenic and twisty Blue Ridge Parkway (although we did get carsick)

Took a short "hike" to the peak of Craggy Gardens, at 5892' elevation. Great view, and great weather for Thanksgiving Day!

Since it is the end of the year and almost the start of the New Year, I feel it is appropriate to keep talking about my goals for the next year and reflect upon where I have done well this year.

Of all the nerdy activities I do (which is pretty much everything, considering I work as an engineer full time, and then do more nerdy things are home), I decided that I need an external source of motivation to achieve my goals. This external source of motivation came in the form of fake "gold" and XP in an online RPG community called Habitica, in which users can gain experience, buy equipment, and gain gold by completing daily tasks, checking things off their to-do lists, or engaging in good habits.

I started using Habitica sometime in the spring, and it has really helped me feel more motivated to get things done so I can buy imaginary equipment or gain random foods to feed my pets. Why does having fake pets, fake gold, and fake armor and equipment motivate me? I have no idea, but it seems to work, so I don't question it further.

So as a result, I have been going to the gym much more regularly. When I go to the gym now, I actively have a plan of which muscles I would like to focus on. Although I still look pretty much the same (skinny), I feel stronger and there may be a small hint of a bump on my upper arms, where my biceps should be :)

Some of my goals for 2016:

1. Continue to exercise, but do it with some goals:
- I want to ski moguls and trees this year. I may not be an expert overnight, but I do want to gain the confidence to be able to take on a good number of mogul trails and glade runs at any given resort.
- I want to ski for longer with less fatigue. I think doing more leg exercises at the gym and more cardio will help me in this effort. I certainly need this when I head for Alta and Snowbird this coming February!
- I need to rock climb more often. Sadly I am perpetually stuck at the 5.9 level and would like to progress to climbing 5.10s regularly. However, I think that because I am becoming more serious about weight lifting, I can focus on muscles and strength that can help me.
- Continue to go to the gym on a regular basis. Help my tight muscles relax with the use of a foam roller.

2. Make plans to have fun.
This was on my goal list for 2015, and it will remain on my goal list this year. I have felt as though I have become closer with some friends and found some people that I really like and do hang out on a regular basis. They enjoy similar activities and so we invite each other to various activities. I like that and would like to continue the trend.

That's it. Two goals. Make it short and simple. And attainable. I thought about adding some goals about being ambitious in work, but then again... it's work. Let's enjoy life!

Warming up after a long winter...

Finally it's nice and warm... 40 degrees. This has been a brutal winter, and although Boston got more snow than we did (not that we didn't get enough here...), we sure got cold. Several days of -20 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

Got snowshoes from Ben as part of my Christmas presents. Used them on February 2nd to go urban snowshoeing (basically just walking outside my front door and around my neighborhood). While we were snowshoeing, saw several cars spin out, and we walked over and offered our assistance, but she didn't take it.  :-(

My roommate and I went urban snowshoeing around our neighborhood.

Some days were too cold to go skiing. But we still went, when we could. So far for the season (I hesitate to call it over, but I am frankly a bit weary of cold weather and snow), I have racked up a vertical of 125,622.6 ft and about 141.4 miles. Not too bad, considering I can't make it out as often as I'd like. Did have some ski trips - one to Sugarloaf, Maine, and another to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sugarloaf is really far away, so we stopped over in Boston for the night. But I have to say, I really enjoyed the resort. If it weren't so far away, I would definitely like to explore it more.

We took a trip to Salt Lake City earlier this month. Kind of crazy to see the West without their usual snowfall, while having some great conditions in the East. However, the trip was still a lot of fun, and I really appreciated having 40 degree temps while skiing, as opposed to the -25 with windchill while at Sugarloaf just a few weeks earlier.

Nice warm spring day at Park City Mountain Resort. 

Got 17 runs in that day at PCMR, which is pretty good for me.

Top of the Strawberry Express Gondola at Snowbasin - great views and awesome runs. Hit my personal record of 45.4 mph from one of these runs.

In non-winter sports news, I've been trying to start rock climbing more often again. Been learning to do more overhang ones, and getting better at hanging with my arms straight, so I don't get them all tired out. So making some progress on fitness, I think. My arms are still sore from climbing yesterday.

Food-wise, haven't been religiously taking photos of food like I used to. However, we did make a delicious triple-berry pie for Pi Day (Ed's birthday). It was really good. I like it even more than apple pie.

Might have overdone the egg wash, but the purple berry mix pops out from beneath the Greek letter pi.

Continuing the MyFitnessPal tracking, trying to make sure Kevin keeps up as well. I feel that it does help me control my portions (aka, make me feel guilty when I eat too much or eat crappy food). 

That's all I really have for the first three months of this year. I hope that warms up even more, and then I hope to do some cycling, hiking, and maybe even venture outside for some climbing!

2014... was ok

And now another end of year/beginning of year post. I've failed miserably on posting much at all this past year. In fact, I had 2 drafts saved from the summer which I failed to post and now it's just too late.

2014 was ok. Ups and downs as there are every year. Nothing super exciting but nothing super bad either. Just trying to think of what I did in 2014, and I can't really think of much. Is that good or bad?

Went to Hong Kong and Thailand. Skied some more. Bought new skis. Got into rock climbing. Went to a friend's wedding in Saratoga Springs. Parents came to visit me in Albany. Went to Montreal and finally ate at Au Pied de Cochon. Went to New York City and visited my girl friends. Went to visit Ben's parents and sister in Asheville and ate some awesome food, drank some delicious beer, and went to a spa. Visited some guy friends in DC. Went to Hong Kong (again) during Thanksgiving. Got in two days of skiing in December before the big thaw and rainstorms came in at the end of December. Had a relaxing Christmas and New Years in Boston and Albany.

Some obligatory photos:

Beautiful flowers this summer at Ben's house

 

Some delicious food that we cooked up this past year

Beautiful Robert Treman State Park in Ithaca

Let's see how I did compared to my goals last year: 

2014 Goals:

• Be less judgmental of people, talk less shit about people behind their back - Ehh... I don't think I achieved this goal. D
• Have better relations with family, both immediate and distant - I think I did okay at this. B
• Be more appreciative of what I have, not be jealous of others - Uh, not really. C
• Be more financially aware - I've been managing my stocks, IRA accounts, and been quite good at saving money. A
• More personal reflection of my own goals & interests - Nope. F

Now, the 2015 goals:

1. Get stronger, build endurance. This means hitting the gym. I signed up for gym membership and I'm paying each month, so I better drag my ass there. Also, strength would help me improve my rock climbing, and I want to build endurance so I can ski for longer. Since I enjoy skiing and rock climbing, I need to remind myself of these goals every time so I can motivate myself to go to the gym.

2. Blog 3-4 times a year. Personal reflection is a good thing and I should do it more often. Since I failed this personal reflection goal last year, it's back.

3. Cook & eat healthy. With the exception of the holiday season, I've been doing pretty good at this. I would like to keep it up. Starting to track my calories/macros with MyFitnessPal this year, I think that it helps keep me aware of how much I am eating and adjust portion sizes accordingly.

4. Start drawing again. I don't think I'm terrible at drawing, and I started to get into it again last year but then didn't keep doing it this year. I would like to draw on a regular basis and maybe even have some worthy enough of framing up at art in the house.

5. Plan to have fun. Sometimes I get lazy and don't plan things, and then when things get boring or I feel like it's all work and no play, I get sad. I am a planner through and through, I love making to-do lists and checking things off. So I need to plan fun things to do every weekend, doesn't have to be big, but stuff that I can look forward to so that I can balance work and play in a better way.