Tearing up the Winter Wonderland

Last weekend, my better half and I ventured to California for a little time away from Chicago and a little skiing/snowboarding in Lake Tahoe. California is a welcome reprieve from Chicago in the middle of February and ranks among the best trip ideas Sonia has ever had. Which is to say, it was awesome.

Driving into Lake Tahoe, the snow was falling thick and fast, dropping a few feet in just a few hours, forcing us along backroads as cars spun out and semis jack knifed along the only highway into Lake Tahoe.

The first day, we both learned to snowboard, an embarrassing process involving torqued knees and faces covered in snow, but at the end of the that day, we emerged victorious, able to conquer a green without fail.

At night, we ventured out into another storm to see all hype of the casinos on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. Walking the casino, we quickly became aware we were too well dressed, too capable of completing full sentences and too inept at even knowing which table was playing what game to hang around.

The next day was Valentine's Day, and another few feet of fresh powder covered the ground. My pride broken, I switched to skis, hoping to take on some hard parts of the mountain without injuries, physical or emotional. Sonia, in her usual persistent way, took to the snowboard again, and through many trials and tribulations proved that persistence is the only way to become better at something.

I enjoyed tearing up the mountain, over rocks, through trees, over ridges, keeping an eye of my wonderous girlfriend, who became rather adept with the snowboard, no speed demon, but capable of carving and moving down complicated hills without embarrassingly disappearing into a pile of snow. By the end, Sonia was snowboarding all over the mountain, doing blues, while I watched and skied between the trees. The vistas were incredible. We returned to the lodge to find other skiers, their dogs and hot mulled cider waiting.

That night we celebrated Valentine's Day in the usual fashion, with a dinner by the lake, though we found several other cozy spots in Lake Tahoe, including hot tubs open to the sky, where your drinks are brought to you by servers. We found, once again, we were tragically overdressed, reminding us just how "city" we really are.

The next day we headed home through yet another snow storm, traveling less than 20 miles in the first two hours. We were fortunate enough to still make the flight home, and watched as our path took over over the South Shore of Lake Tahoe and Heavenly, seeing the runs we did that day from the air.

When that ski bug gets under your skin, its hard to let it go, so tomorrow, we are off again to Devils Head to tear up some more mountain.

In conclusion, California rocks and so does my girlfriend. QED

DM

Return of the Morley

So I've been accused of not writing enough in this blog. This is a fallacy. A better argument is that I haven't been posting enough in this blog.

I write quite a bit actually, not nearly as often as I like, as the purpose of this blog is to track to most minute thoughts and interactions that amuse me. I do find myself often beginning a post and bailing half way through and have half a dozen unfinished posts hidden just behind this page, perhaps never to see the light of day.

Abandoning my own criticisms would probably be wise at this point, because as a result, I've failed to memorialize a dozen wonderful moments.

So what have you missed from my life since Fall. Sonia and I went to several shows, Jersey Boys, Wicked. And found ourselves going out and having a wonderful time in Chicago shortly before Christmas. Sonia left for Romania a few weeks before Christmas. Two weeks later I flew into London, just before New Year's and we met up. Along with my brother flying in from Colombia and his girlfriend flying in from Madrid, we were an international crowd.

We saw London, spent some time down in Brighton with my wonderful grandmother, and then spent a little more time in London, seeing the sights, driving on the wrong side of the road and just generally having a grand time. We finished the trip with wonderful seats at Les Miserables, which had us both in tears by the end. For a more visual perspective, my Flickr account has many pictures from our trip.

Since returning Stateside, I've gotten into building an pre-club ultimate frisbee team, which has taken up most of my time. It fills a void I haven't had in a while, not since leaving college, and being able to build something like that gets me up every morning.

Sadly, my hamstring is not yet better and coaching is still about all I can do, causing me to miss Trouble in Vegas with Haymaker this past weekend. All unfortunate events have a silver lining though, and tomorrow, I will be getting LASIK (which took two weeks of no contacts to get ready for). So next time I post, it will be with perfect vision.

Hopefully my next post will involve more insight and less overview.

Until next time.

DM

Cross Eyed Cats

I live in a 3 rise condominum in Chicago's West Loop. The area is changing dramatically day to day, with the status quo previously of Ada Homes Projects and Italian communities side by side, being turned upside down with the influx of middle class suburbia looking for a second home.

For myself and my roommates, it afforded a better habitat than most while going to school, with an excellent view of the city and plenty of space. Located right near a field, it benefits our desire to be outdoors often.

In fact, there are only a few things I could honestly gripe about regarding my present living situation and the one that stands out in my mind right now, which I cannot shake, is that damn cat downstairs.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like cats. I might even love cats. When they aren't shedding on everything, they are amazing animals. Intelligent and intuitive, they can be your best friend or worst enemy. That individual potential makes them far superior to their canine partners in domestication.

Dogs are seen as smart, much like dolphins, because when you tell them to do something, you can actually get them to do it. I consider cats intelligent, simply because they don't. They tell you to fuck off. That is an intelligent animal.

Unfortunately, this downstairs cat is ruining all the regal charm a cat should possess. Day after day, I come home to find him on the sill of the double back window staring out, through the screen, taking note of my arrival.

This cat takes note through a strange lopsided look, as it tries to make me out, failing recognition between its severely cross eyed vision. And this is why I can't stand to come home to see this cat day after day. He is ruining my perception of cats all together. He stupidly turns his head to the side, this way and that, attempting to take me in. He has yet to show the fabled perception I believe all cats to have. He is ruining my schema.

I have since run experiments on this cat, while it sat on its perch and have come to only one endearing conclusion. (No, I have not since found the cat adorable). After running similar tests to what the optometrist would run on me, I found that it is very aware that it is cross eyed, which is more than I could say for a dog of a similar disposition.

The fact that it knows it is not seeing as it desires to, is its only saving grace.

Damn that cat.

Her

It was two years ago, this past summer, when I first met her.

A girl of unsurpassed beauty.

A girl of never-ending energy.

A girl willing to tell me how it is.

A girl unwilling to compromise.

A girl willing to try anything.

A girl unwilling to accept anything, but what she believes to be the best.

My girl.

It was two years ago, this month, we became more than just friends.

It's been two years. Seems like yesterday. Time flies. When I am with her.

She is my rock, my confidante, my love.

We Are The Champions!

Summer League was an entirely new experience for Ed, Colyn and myself. Captaining a team that consisted almost entirely of high schoolers and first year college students, we found that a lot of fundamental work was necessary and the youngins up to the task. It was inspiring to watch these kids grow as players and go back to their schools with new information and ideas.

We were the favor
ites going into the Summer League Tournament, but on the day we lost many of our best youngins and found ourselves near savage.

We found ourselves working as well together won the tournament, winning a magnum of cheap champagne. As
only a handful of us were over 21, we certainly felt the effects of our celebration quickly.

Of course, no tournament is complete without a Jagg-Off.






Votes are now up!

Summer Recap

As per usual, my posting is inconsistent at best. This is larger because I've noticed a year and a half out of college and my grammar and flow in creative writing has gone to hell. All the more reason I should continue posting. This, however, is a Summer Recap in pictures.

June 8th:
BB King at Perillo Music Shell


BB King closed out Blues Fest in his usual glory, his first appearance at the Chicago Blues Fest in 20 years. My second time seeing BB King live, I was not disappointed. Few musicians really seem to appreciate their art to be point it becomes them. BB King is one of the few.

June 28th:
Stevie Wonder at Perillo Music Shell

Another musical genius, Stevie Wonder, performs at the Taste of Chicago.

July 11th:
Feist at Ravinia

A beautiful show by an artist who does beautiful things on stage. Pictures to follow.

July 15th:
All About Eve

Brilliant movie amazingly written. Again, something I would have liked to talk more about at the time.

July 22nd:
The Odd Couple

As much as I love both of these actors, I had difficulty watching this movie as pathetic people are difficult to watch for hours at a time.

July 29th:
Blues Brothers

Nothing is as awesome as seeing your city in a movie, this is the case with Wanted, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and All Batman movies. But Blues Brothers is an iconic staple of Chicago. Unfortunately, near the end of the movie a storm came through and Sonia and I decided to enjoy the summer storm and stroll through Millennium Park and played in the rain.


Movies of the Summer:
Iron Man: One of the best comic book movies I have ever seen. Robert Downey Jr. gains respect from me as an actor.
Wanted: One of the worst action movies I've ever seen, but Angelina has never looked more attractive, and the city looks as wonderful as ever.
Dark Knight: The best comic book movie I have ever seen. Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker.
Tropic Thunder: Robert Downey Jr. gets even better, in a movie which certainly has some slow points, but some uproarious ones as well.
At Home:
The Orphange: I am honestly afraid of scary movies. I do not like them. So Sonia had to pull my teeth for weeks before I sat down and watched this with her. And it was truly beautiful. The story is great, the cinematography is gorgeous and everyone should see it.
Pan's Labyrinth: This received a lot more acclaim, and like the one above it, had the hand of Guillermo del Toro to direct it artistically.

That's a brief summer recap. More to come.

English Theory

"Remarkably" is, in its very existence, a redundant word.

It only exists to proclaim something presently being remarked about.