Arrival in Sun Valley

As I've been updating lots of you over the phone, email, etc. I thought I'd start the thing I never thought I'd start: a blog. I know people who have had impressive blogs, but I know a lot more with blog fails. Why should I expect that people want to hear about my life? Well, maybe because I'm more than a stone's throw from anyone I know, living a life that I keep describing as "different."

Saturday, January 16th, my mom, her sister (and my aunt) Chris, and my friend Molly successfully moved me out of 36 Fair Oaks, Apartment 3 in San Francisco's Mission District, where I had a fifteen month love/hate relationship with the two bedroom apartment and its landlord. (A week later, I received my deposit, minus a $14.50 rent board fee and $25 oven cleaning fee, which I think means he's going to replace the oven because it was UNCLEANABLE, or, in real words, dirty beyond repair).

Annemom and Kirforce hit the road right as the rain started, heading over the Bay Bridge for the last time at 6:30 PM in a car that could not have accommodated one more item (thanks, Molly and Aunt Chris, for taking some of my cast-offs!).

We made it to Reno, where we spent the night at the Ramada and played some penny slots for complimentary Coronas, while worrying that my bike would be stolen off the top of my car (I don't have a lock on my rack). We woke up the next morning, relieved to still have my bike and excited to visit with my friends, Kyle and Audrey: Reno locals. Had a yummy breakfast at the Pneumatic Diner (why do I always eat so much when I'm on the road? it's not like I'm burning any calories behind the wheel) and hit the road again, stopping in Winnemucca and Twin Falls, my previously designated gas station stops (oh and we had a close call of running out of gas getting to Reno... barely made it, great start to the drive).

We arrived at Sage Haven, the name of my grandmother's condo in Ketchum, ID, the evening of Sunday, January 17th and unloaded all of my stuff, which didn't get much past the hallway to the garage. Victory was ours!

Monday and Tuesday were ski days for Annemom and Kirforce, getting some much needed time on the snow together that we hadn't had over the holidays. Unfortunately, the amount of snow hadn't increased since then, so a lot of the mountain was still closed. We got a bunch of snow on Monday night, so Tuesday was a vast improvement. Annemom left out of Hailey on Tuesday afternoon. Kirforce then assumed her title, Mistress of Sage Haven, moving her stuff into appropriate storage areas and taking care of business (updating addresses, enrolling in class, attempting to correct my Idaho license that still claims my name is "Kisten").

Life is good. But it gets better. We get a pounding of snow. Falling quietly overnight, I wake up to 12 inches on Thursday and a call from my step-aunt, Sue, a local. We hit the powder, hard. Abusing my body in a way I haven't abused it for years.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'm on the mountain helping out with the USSA race that we're hosting. Recording hand-timer start times, delivering lunches to volunteers, and getting a bout of altitude sickness. I'm not used to these elevations! Sunday is a free ski day for me, courtesy of the Sun Valley Ski Team, thanks! I shred it up after getting a late start, solo. Skiing is something I'm happy to do alone, but is always more fun with others.

So the first week I'm here, I ski six days, only taking one day off. This "addiction" is "worse than heroin," says a local. Yeah, and just about as expensive. The first week also involves job-hunting, class, and lots of shoveling. I'll get into those arduous activities in the next post.