SallyCat

Still here and imho it's wicked fun; genuine packed powder so it's turned into a great evening to be a Groomer Zoomer with a SWEET pair of RTMs.

Yeah, I was one of the last chairs up before it broke and the top area reeked of burning engine oil or something. It's back running for now.

I got the Red Chair!

And girlos! Just arrived. Roads were totally clear and fine except for the Palmerton side of Blue Mtn drive on the ridge, which inexplicably had a bunch of snow cover.

Tempting! I did just go over Donner Pass in a car with no snow tires. Perhaps its time to put the mighty Blizzaks to the test!

I'm seriously considering moving to Sacramento, CA. It's not insanely expensive and has easy access to the Sierras but with the advantages of a decent-sized city. A town with a university is always a good bet for me because I can adjunct and pick up temp work in their office pool. Then if I wanted to get back into prep school teaching, it's a good region, because holy cow do those tech people have a lot of money to spend on tuition. Photo Booth.app.zip Also feeling a lot less sweary, today. The flight isn't full, so I have a whole row to myself and I think the steward forgot to charge me for this beer. I think I'll arrive in Newark early enough to only have to drive home in rain, not snow.

I won't have health insurance, so I need to look at states with expanded Medicaid/ACA. So communally-minded VT is a better bet than libertarian NH in my circumstance. Also, this is weird: "Legislator Compensation New Hampshire legislators are only paid a salary of $100 per year, helping ensure the existence of a citizen legislature committed to public service." Actually, what it may mean is that you can't be in the state leg unless you can support yourself financially. So the interests of wealthier people are more likely to be represented,. And if the position has no source of income, legislators are potentially more likely to seek ways to profit externally from their offices.

Yeah, I know what you're saying. That's exactly the kind of job I want for a year. Sort myself out, see what the future holds, have free time that's actually free.

Oh, if I deploy plan B I won't teach. I think I need a year off to get my mojo back.

Yeah, I have a feeling I'm going to end up in VT or NH.

I only dislike Eaf. Can't watch; I'm not going to get any of these jobs. Just a vibe, but a strong one. I need a plan B and a place to live that's near good mountain biking and skiing but has a low cost of living. I don't suppose there are any places like that left.

I don't know wtf that was. But I'm back to strongly disliking Eaf, so at least there's some order in the world.

They pay for everything but it's reimbursement.

Shitty trip, shithole ski area, shit skis. I can't take anymore of these trips. The last candidate for this job interviews on March 24. So after all this: "we'll get back to you in April." Fuck teaching, Fuck all of this.

Tried to sneak away for some evening skiing and went to Boreal, because they are open until 9 and because they are on the Max Pass. Had my own boots and figured I'd demo. Fail #1 on my part: no demos. Fail #2: thinking I could get food at 6pm at a resort that's open until 9. Nope. But I had a shitty day and really wanted to ski, so I rented. That's right: I channeled my inner Salty and rented 170 Volkls. 74s. I did about four runs and gave up. It was too horrible.

I can't make it unfortunately. Wish I could, it's been great meeting everyone this year.

Until she shuts down tailgating. Then you'll have to be appropriate and responsible like everyone else at Blue and drink while you're skiing.

I thought she said you could do solos. It was the visible beer cans that people complained about?

Dammit, I should have thought of that! Checked my helmet like a risk-taking fool!

We dismissed early from school yesterday but it was a touch call; I mean, we were expecting a warm, mild rainstorm and it turned into an insane blizzard-pocalypse. I was a little squeamish about sending new drivers out into those conditions, but I don't get paid to make those decisions. I was in the AA terminal. Waited for half an hour on the "priority" TSA line and definitely was not feeling prioritized. A bloody mary made things better. (I hate dealing with carry-ons, jostling for space, carrying stuff around the airport, blah. I'm only carrying a bag today because I don't want AA to lose my interview clothes).

Crazy. I drove to Newark this morning from Bethlehem; no problems on 78, but after about 20 minutes of driving I suddenly realized we'd transitioned from a snowy winter landscape to absolutely no snow. I never did look at the radar yesterday, but the abrupt transitions seem pretty wild.

I would LOVE it if they were open for another week! This storm is crazy, and with snow on the ground people will come out, which hopefully will encourage snowmaking. Leaving tomorrow morning, skiing Sunday. Got a free pass to an undisclosed location. (I don't want to jinx things). I will definitely report back.

It is a fine and charming group. I've very much appreciated their kind welcome this year. I have to go to Vermont next weekend to help my mom get her house/things ready for a big move to an independent-living place. Unless I can get away Thursday evening, or they stay open longer than anticipated, I may not get a chance to ski Blue before they close. If that's the case, I hope some of you would be up for a PASR bike park day!

Wild ride home in Bethlehem. Crazy wind and some big branches down. Still snowing.

Subjective and relative to how you ski. I have 172s (RTM 84s) and they are awesome; perfect. They are burly, stable, grippy skis and are plenty fast for me. I'm more interested in deliberate turns than speed anyway, but still: the 84s have an impressively high speed limit. The 177s were too unwieldy for my low skill level and the way I ski. Salty likes to go fast and publish his max speed. He should have bought the 86s in 177. Harder to get on edge than the 81s, but I don't think he uses his edges anyway. His stats would be savage if he'd bought the 86s.