Pictures from Break

So, I didn't learn any guitar (although I totally gave it a shot... for about 20 min).

But otherwise, my first-ever college break was a great time to catch up with friends and family, be lazy and do some skiing (mostly the lazy and skiing parts). I got to train with the Lab Mtn Ski Team (my team from age 8-17) and do a slalom race at Gore Mtn in the Adirondacks (where, by the way, I discovered my USSA points had been reset to 990 from my year abroad; I then DNF'ed and DSQ'ed Sat. and Sun., respectively). It was good to get the jitters out, and this weekend I'm doing a slalom at Snow Ridge near Rome, NY (where I'll hopefully put 2 runs together and get rid of some points).

So now that break is coming to an end, here are a few pictures from my last few weeks at home!

Syracuse, NY; my hometown. Shot from 3rd floor of UO in Armory Sq.

Shackham Rd., Morgan Hill State Forest. On the way to Lab.

Labrador Mtn., my home hill.

Clubbing at Lava (at the Turning Stone Casino in Rome, NY) on 18+ night.

Letter from one of my SMC friends, Sophie.

My dog, Marcy.

 It's been fun, but I can't wait to get back to SMC next week!

Thanks for reading!

Where is the snow you ask? Labrador Mtn.

Since I've been home, there hasn't been much snow in where I live; and I'm guessing we're not the exception, as indicated by many of my friends' facebook and twitter updates.

But on Christmas Eve my dad and I were fortunate enough to get a small dose of Winter Wonderland en route to my home mountain, Labrador, in Truxton, NY. Here are some pictures from my drive with my dad on Shackham Road through Morgan Hill State Forest:

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, even though the rest of the state wasn't. Unfortunately, the rest of the state still doesn't, but the area around Lab has continued to get some snow, and they're making a ton as well. Even though my skiing situation is pretty solid, I'm still crossing my fingers to let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Plans for Break.

I've now been home for a week to the day. It's been nice to unwind and see family, chill with my dog and cats, watch some movies and just relax in general. But I can only do so much relaxing before I get bored, and let me tell you, there's a limit to how much Christmas advertising I can take in between my Law and Order and NCIS reruns. I've become quite bored.

As a result of this boredom, I've decided to be productive. There are a few things I have to get done over break (fill out an I-9 and W-4, draft a resume and write a paper for Freshman Seminar). But I don't want to be working my entire break; so here are a few personal goals I've set for myself, as well as other things I'd like to accomplish on my time off.

Skiing Faster

http://bit.ly/soNfKV

I've mentioned here before that I've had the opportunity to train dry land with the ski team this fall. Well, the last Thursday of the semester before break I got to run gates for the first time this season, and I gotta say after looking at the video my coaches took, my runs were rough around the edges to say the least (not like Ted Ligety, pictured above). There's a few things I need to be working on if I want to race faster and make the team next year; so over break I'll be skiing, running gates and getting to the gym as much as possible. The only problem is that I have a cough that won't go away, and that leads me to my next goal.

Getting Healthy
I've had a cough since September that has not gone away. The rest of my body feels healthy, but when I work out, if it's cold or if I've been lying down for a while, I get this cough that sounds like my left lung is trying to fight it's way out of my chest. I don't mean to complain, but it's a nuisance and something I plan to get rid of over break. Since I'm home I hope I can get more sleep, eat better and follow all my doctor's directions so that by the time I get back to school I'll be healthy and ready to go; hopefully I'll be better even before that.

Guitar
This one is a little ambitious, because the extent of my guitar knowledge is about 5 lessons from when I was 12 (aka nil), after I got a guitar for Christmas. I still have my guitar, so my goal is to teach myself some basics and learn a song before I go back to school. People say that guitar is overrated and that everyone can play it. I hope at least the latter is true.

Dance Moves

http://bit.ly/rS0e6B

I am not ashamed; I want to learn some dance moves. My friends Nathan, Harper, Carlos and I have managed to learn the Party Rock Anthem as well as the And We Danced dance segments, and we've pledged to perfect those and try to learn some other crazy moves as well (Nathan wants to be able to windmill). Not quite sure which crazy dance move I'll try to learn, but I'm sure I'll think of something soon ;)

Resume
This is less of a bummer than it sounds, because it's something that any college student should have for internships and other jobs; also, because I'm really excited about the internship I'm building this resume for. I live in Rome NY, close to Utica NY (I tell people I'm from Syracuse, though, because that's where I grew up and I still don't know Rome very well) where there is a huge refugee population. The Mohawk Valley Refugee Center in Utica offers various forms of support for resettled refugees in the area, and the internship I'm applying to for this summer is with this organization. I'm really excited about this opportunity because it's in line with what I plan to pursue as a career after college. I've already contacted the woman in charge of the internships, and it looks promising!

So those are my plans for break! If you have any questions / comments, feel free to contact me!

Thanks for reading!

It's a small world!

This is a funny story I thought I'd share (albeit a week after the fact) about returning home last week for Thanksgiving break.

I was driving back with my parents (who had come up Monday to spend a little time in Burlington) Tuesday evening, when we took a quick bathroom break at a McDonald's in Whitehall, NY. As I opened the door to walk in, a girl was leaving wearing an SMC hoodie, and I said,"Hey, I go to Saint Mike's!"

So then we started talking and we discovered we were both from NY (when I first asked her where she lived, she said "the 4's. oh wait, you mean home?") and then I asked her what town and she said Rome; aka the small town my family just moved to about a year ago when I was in Poland.

We all couldn't believe it, I learned that she was a senior, and my parents asked if they had any mutual friends in Rome; all in all it was a pretty funny experience! Small world, huh?

Thanks for reading!