nairb codex

I started snowboarding in the ‘99/00 season, using a board my friend Okamura gave me. I ended up teaching myself and struggling for awhile until I realized that my board was too short for the way I ride. Since then, I started riding longer boards and improved considerably, although I still don’t consider myself that great. In the last two seasons, I’ve taken 3 lessons (1 in Whistler, 1 at Snow Summit, 1 in Åre). I honestly wish I had taken lessons when I first started because those 3 lessons changed everything about the way I board.

For whatever reason, I’m somewhat fearless in that I’m willing to try almost any run. For that reason, I’ve been able to keep up with my friends on our annual week-long ski/snowboard trips, all of whom I consider to have above average skill (although all skiers). Because of the lessons I’ve taken, I’m no longer the last one down in the group.

I prefer backcountry & off piste. There’s something about gliding across untouched powder with only your friends in sight that really doesn’t compare to much else in this world. I’ve never been a park rider, though I’m slowly but surely trying to be able to jump with some degree of confidence.

Here’s a map of the ski resorts I’ve snowboarded throughout the world, with a list (in chronological order) of all the resorts. I’ll keep updating it as I conquer new places.

1. Powder Ridge
2. Spirit Mountain
3. Whitetail
4. Hunter Mountain
5. Biwako Valley
6. Akitaken Tazawako
7. Ischgl
8. Samnaun
9. Sölden
10. Lenggries
11. Garmisch-Partenkirchen
12. Skiwelt (Söll)
13. Oberammergau
14. St Anton am Arlberg
15. St Christoph am Arlberg
16. Lech-Zürs
17. Alyeska
18. Bear Mountain
19. Whistler-Blackcomb
20. Snow Summit
21. Åre-Duved

I know my last post was pretty blunt and a bit harsh, but I wanted to officially say that I’m not mad at her and I definitely don’t hate her. I just couldn’t continue with the relationship we had. We’ve since talked, and although I don’t expect us to be best friends or anything, I think we’ll keep in touch from time to time.

So it’s been awhile, but I am back. 2008 was a hard year for me, with only the very beginning of the year being truly happy times for me. The rest of the year I spent slowly spiraling down into a dark existence, hitting rock bottom right around the end of the year.

In the past year, I’ve lost most of my self confidence, been consciously depressed, including pissing off most of my friends who attempted to keep in contact with me, losing about 25 lbs, and finding out I’m anorexic. I spent the majority of my time trying to make someone love me the way I wanted, even though I realized a long time ago that that would never happen, and turned out to be a rather expensive endeavor, all for nothing. I kept turning to her out of complete and utter loneliness, only for her to turn a cold shoulder every time I needed her. Read the rest of this entry »

It was, in fact, my birthday yesterday. Normally I don’t really look forward to my birthday. It’s not that I don’t like birthdays, it’s just that I tend to have very unmemorable birthdays, so it’s just another day for me.

This year, however, was different. Although my day wasn’t all that great because of some work annoyances, my evening was perfect. About two weeks ago, my best friend Stoyan called and said he and Alex would be in LA over my birthday and were wondering if I’d like to have dinner with them. Since I often can’t think of good places to eat, I entrusted Reiko to help me decide. She chose Yuzu, which I’m pretty sure is her favorite restaurant, and for good reason.

After that, she took care of everything. Thank god for my wonderful girlfriend, because my birthday dinner was perfection at its best! The food was amazing, the atmosphere was cozy and romantic, and absolutely no complaints having spent the evening with 3 of my favorite people. Read the rest of this entry »