Still snowing!

It seems the prospect of a white Christmas is no longer in doubt. It would take a lot of melting to change things at this point! Our neighborhood has been transformed into a ski-in-ski-out community. That should bring property values up a bit ;-).

Even the courts closed on Monday, so Scott stayed home and we skied to the Post Office to collect the mail. Yesterday I skied to the grocery store, but the snow was more packed and dirty from all the cars so the conditions were not as good. I awoke this morning to at least two inches of fresh powder and it's still snowing hard. We're supposed to get several inches this morning with a possibility of rain this afternoon (that seem unlikely, as it's only 26 degrees at 9 a.m.

With a little bit of packing, the neighborhood streets should be ideal for skating tomorrow! Skiing on Christmas and we don't even have to drive to the mountain--how cool is that??

Marshmallow World

Desperate for some exercise this afternoon, Scott and I suited up in snow pants, gaiters, and parkas for an expedition to the gym. The roads are too treacherous for running and the iced-over snow is too lumpy for a decent ski. No hope of getting the car out--the driveway is several inches under and the drifts against the garage door are plastered with a quarter-inch glaze of ice. Besides, most of the roads haven't seen a plow and the other people out there are too busy talking on their cell phones to figure out how to drive in the snow.

The first leg of the journey, a quarter-mile hike to the bus stop, went off without a hitch. Thanks to the online transit tracker, we even timed our arrival shortly ahead of the bus to avoid standing in the blowing sleet long enough to frost over. Leg two was a short bus ride to an intersection where we had to change buses. This is the tricky part. Trimet seems to get a kick out of scheduling buses so that you arrive to make a transfer just in time to watch a bus pull away from the stop. Three people were already waiting so we knew we hadn't just missed one. The new bus was on a snow route, though, skipping some of its stops, and we weren't quite sure from which direction it would come. We only waited about five minutes, all in all a successful journey.

The gym was pleasantly empty. After an abbreviated weight lifting session, I hopped on the stationary bike for some sweat-inducing cardio. Grinding "uphill" on the bike, I imagine a scorching day in June, subconsciously steering my mountain bike toward scattered patches of shade on a gruelling climb in the Cream Puff 100. Jolted from my visualization by a song change on my iPod, I glanced outside and my heart leaped at the sight of the blizzard that was going on. The sleet had been replaced with big, white flakes tumbling from the dark sky. I picked up the pace a bit on the bike, thrilled with the snowstorm that envelops us.

Winter Wonderland

Last week, my computer and I caught viruses. My nasty cold slowed me down for a few days, but one day my computer flat out refused to get up. Lucky for me, my friend Tim is a computer guy (that's generic for people who do stuff with computers but you don't know exactly what; it's like someone saying they're an engineer--what does that mean, exactly??) and since I give him guest passes every year, I don't feel too bad about consuming a few hours of his time.

So I took advantage of a small window of driving opportunity (the roads were pretty clear from the first snowstorm, but the next one hadn't started yet) to make the trip to Hood River. Tim and I have paddled together quite a bit and often work in a run or bike ride between paddling and beers. Amazingly enough, I haven't been out there in almost a year, though, so it was good to catch up.

While my computer processed it's rebirth, Tim and I suited up in our warmest winter running gear and headed out to Catherine Creek. Usually a dry desert landscape on the east end of the Columbia River Gorge, the Catherine Creek/Syncline area was blanketed in powdery, white snow. Tim led us along a trail that wound up the ridge. As the trail steepened, I slid back half a step for every step forward. My heart pounded against my chest and my lungs threatened to burst. I slowed to a walk. Alternating running and walking to keep my heart and lungs in check, I finally caught up to Tim where he waited near the summit. The higher we climbed, the deeper the powder. We followed a set of cat tracks with tail drag marks and saw black bear prints. We stopped to admire the view--a rare blue-sky day with the Gorge as backdrop--and the picture of frosted trees.

We finally crested the top of a bench overlooking the Gorge where we caught our breath, had a snowball fight and made snow angels. Tim wondered why my horns and pitchfork didn't show up in mine (his snow angel did sport horns!).

It was the kind of winter day that makes me long for winters in Wyoming. In Portland, winter is a dark, dreary season, soggy and full of moss. But in the Rocky Mountains, I used to look forward to winter, with it's crystal clear blue skies, contrasting white mountains, and lung-searing cold air.

An energizing winter run, pizza and a dark beer, a like-new computer and good friendship. I drove home with a satisfied smile on my face.

Aaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!

Here's the deal: I'm kind of unemployed, but I have a job--but I'm not getting paid for it and I can't go get another job that does pay because I already have a job--but I'm not getting paid. Make sense?? Only if you're an airline pilot.

Since I was hit by a car in September, I've been medically unqualified to fly airplanes. Now my doctor has released me to "light duty" which has no application to my job. I'm released to do all the tasks related to my job on December 8. That means I miss my Q400 class that starts December 2. And thanks to a provision in our union contract, the company can delay my return to work by up to 30 days for their own convenience (in this case, not having a training schedule in place for me).

I've exhausted all of my paid leave--sick, short term disability and vacation--and am facing Christmas with no paycheck. "You'll have Christmas at home!" declared the assistant chief pilot enthusiastically. "Yeah, but I won't be able to eat between now and then," I replied.

Grrr.