on listening and interference

Recently I feel like there has been a lot of interference in my life, preventing me from clearly hearing. Some of it is necessary, and some not. I'm within days of closing on my first home (condo) purchase, so phone calls and emails with financial lenders, HOA managers, my Realtor, etc are inevitable, as are trips to buy boxes and packing tape, reserving a moving truck, replacing my renters insurance with homeowners insurance, etc. Other distractions, mainly regarding my as of yet unfulfilled search for my future wife, seem extremely unnecessary and are clouding my decision making, head, and frankly irritating me to no end.* It has started to affect my sleep (I am NOT a morning person, but haven't slept all the way til my alarm sounds for quite some time), and more importantly, my prayer life. I'm currently reading a book now called Practical Prayer, which has reiterated to me the importance of simply listening in silence during prayer. This has honestly been difficult... to listen to God, if that makes sense. I don't mean actually waiting to hear a voice, but hopefully you understand that. I suppose this happens to all Christians from time to time, but recently more than ever I feel like I have been unable to interpret God's intentions, pleadings, and guidance in my life.

This morning the noise was tangible, with a ringing in my ears that would not subside. In an attempt to rid myself of this weight, I headed up to Sugarloaf Mountain, a familiar face with a vantage point that could just about cure disease. I drove up in silence, parked the Jeep, and headed up the trail to a clearing where several of the Indian Peaks (Sugarloaf is the bald hill under #22 in this picture) and Longs Peak - all of which are within Boulder County - were in plain sight. There were a few folks at the trailhead, but after a few minutes they headed off in another direction, and I was left alone. Every now and then a plane would fly overhead and make a bit of distant noise, but for the most part it was silent except for birds or the wind through the pines. After a while the ringing in my ears faded, and I felt like I could accurately hear again. I sat in silence for quite some time. I prayed. I took in the scenery. I simply listened. I became acutely aware of the smell of the pine and dirt around me, and the cloudless sky. I memorized the panorama to the west. I don't know how long this went on for, but after a while the time didn't matter. If I had to guess I'd say I sat in the same spot for at least 45 minutes. It might not sounds like it, but that's a lot of silence. And it was terrific. After the sun moved behind a tree and I got cold I decided to head to Nederland for some hot chai. When I stood up, I felt almost as refreshed as Peter Gibbons after hypnosis. I drove to Nederland in silence again (no radio stations come in up there anyways) and drove home a different way, down Boulder Canyon... in silence. [I know I've written this before, but I am continually made aware of how special Boulder - and all of Boulder County - is. Unless I move out of the Front Range, I have no desire to leave this county. It's amazing the bounty that can be found right out my front door.]

On my way home I stopped at Home Depot for a wardrobe box. Immediately upon walking through the front door I was acutely aware that I was being bombarded with noise once again. It made me think about whether everyone else could hear it or if they had actually let themselves become accustomed to it. The apathy displayed by voluntary subjection to such poison was horrifying. My point is this; when looking around, just people watching even for a minute, it seems so many lives are full of frivolity and superfluity. Noise. Interference. It boggles the mind to think of what we could collectively accomplish if we didn't waste time worrying about these things. I suppose what is frivolous to one may be imperative to another, but still, I think we could largely agree on a vast majority of what goes on in this world and devote time to more important matters. Who among us, after all, can add another hour to our lives by worrying? I can dream, I guess.

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*[This alone could be the subject of an entire post on this blog. It's like I have a sign on my forehead that says, "help me find a wife" or something. I honestly never knew I even had a suggestion box for this topic, but the damn thing is now completely full and then some, so I'd like the incoming flow to stop. I honestly don't remember the last complete day where a family member, friend, or co-worker has NOT made a comment or suggestion about how I should go about finding a girlfriend / that I really should get myself one. I never knew my non-existant love life was so interesting. While I appreciate the encouragement and intent, enough is enough. I'm trying to be a good sport about this, but soon I'm going to have to put a different sign on my forehead... something like, "I apologize for what you're reading, but if what you're about to say has anything to do with the opposite sex then I'm going to drive one or both of us off the nearest cliff." So for those of you who are making these suggestions or puzzled over my current situation, and you're actually reading this, here you go...

I don't care that I'm single enough to let it occupy all my spare time, energy, and brain cells. It does weigh heavily on my mind, but apparently not to the extent that it does on yours. (Neil Young: "...doesn't mean that much to me, to mean that much to you...") Believe me, most days I would gladly cut my salary in half in exchange for somebody to share it with, but I have confidence that this whole situation will work itself out soon enough. Until then, I'm being patient. At the risk of sounding egomaniacal, I haven't yet found somebody that knocks me off my proverbial feet. (I'm not talking about just physical appearance here.) Once I do, rest assured that I'll give her the moon and stars and expect her to do the same for me, but until then, please be patient. That's probably about all I should say on this subject. Thanks for the sentiment, but I would recommend devoting fewer synapses to this endeavor. You'll only end up with ringing ears. If you can't infer that from my facial expression when you talk to me about this stuff, perhaps you need to spend some time up on Sugarloaf and get the interference out.]

good day at A-Basin

Yesterday I ventured out for a solo day at A-Basin. It was the first time I've driven up on a Sunday instead of a Saturday... traffic was completely different, among other things. But the more exciting topic was the skiing, so let's get to that. First off, as a precursor, I hadn't been out in about 3 weeks, so I wasn't sure how well I would ski. There also hadn't been any new snow for at least a week, so I wasn't sure how good the snow would be. It was a crap shoot, and the gamble paid off.

That was my first day on the Pallavinci lift area of A-Basin, and I highly recommend it, especially when Zuma is closed. I did laps on Pali Face and surprised myself at how well I skied. That's not the steepest line I've ever skied, but definitely very fun and worth checking out if you haven't before. I was able to sustain chaining turns for as long as I cared to rather than until I started to get out of control, and my mogul lines improved too. It was as if the lightbulb finally went on this season! Those nagging thoughts in the back of my mind about digressing this season were sent packing for some other year, and I was thrilled at the day.

Sunday also gave me the chance to try out my brand spanking new Light Smoke Flash jacket from Patagonia (50% off!) to see if it was warm enough and wind-resistant enough to stand up to truly crappy weather days on the slopes. That puppy passed with flying (...red, actually) colors! It was so windy (50mph gusts) that the Montezuma side was closed most of the day. At the top of the resort wind was bombarding everyone with up-to-penny-diameter ice crystals which stung any unprotected skin. When Zuma did open, I ventured over once and immediately headed back to Pali Face where the snow was much better. It simply wasn't worth waiting behind a ridge like a penguin until the wind stopped so you could slide down a sheet of ice. Along with being a good day to put my new jacket to the test, it was a real lesson in wind deposition; new snow coverage was replinished throughout the day. At one point in particular I had to stop for at least 2 minutes due to whiteout conditions, and when I pulled my hands from my face (being pelted by the newly deposited fluff...) a brand new powder/corn surface was laid out for me to enjoy.

Now that we're approaching mid-February, I'm anticipating some good spring storms to come through and provide some good powder days for me to close out the season with. Time will tell. I'm looking forward to my free day at Monarch in April courtesy my Gems card. To be perfectly honest, I haven't explored all that much new ground this year, and have to admit I haven't found anything that matches the sustained steep lines of Loveland's ridge or Winter Park's Vasquez Ridge... the potential is there but the snow hasn't been. Next year I might just get some Loveland 4-packs and the Intrawest pass again... we'll see. But not so fast, there is plenty of days left in this season, so I'll keep you posted with whatever new territory I discover.