It must be winter...

Because my butt is super sore, meaning that I had a day out on a snowboard! First run of the season and first run this side of the Pacific. Amazing that I hadn't forgotten too much-- I guess snowboarding is like riding a bike... but since I was never a very good rider to begin with, there is still much room for improvement. The first few runs went quite well, but then because it was quite warm today, the snow became slushy, I became more tired, and my butt became increasingly more and more sore. Yep, still have some major issues with the hip-throwing action on my inside turns...

I have really only snowboarded in Japan, so I found that since today I was doing something outside the Japanese context that I usually completely associate with Japan , I had to keep reminding myself that I was back in the U.S. and there was no hot spring awaiting me after a long day in the snow. :-( It also didn't help that for some odd reason I was surrounded by Asian people (odd because there are no Asian people who live around me!) and even some Japanese speakers. I literally thought I would hear Px's laugh or S' face... a few times I had even thought I spotted Fredo's red and blue ski jacket! The only thing that kept bringing me back to reality was the southern accents and American humor of the friends I went with.

Apart from that, I've been enjoying the two new little additions to my household! Wanted to upload pics but it is altogether impossible on my mother's dinosaur dial-up internet... Must wait for a faster connection!