Saturday, November 05, 2005

~*...boyz playing with their sticks...*~

last night my boy nick came over with his new snowboard, boots, bindings, and gear. this season will be nick's first season on the slopes as a snowboarder. i helped him buy new gear, and last night helped him put it together. the gear he bought was badass. not necessarily a beginner set up, but he'll get a lot of seasons out of his purchase that's for sure. he bought last year's ride timeless 159. this stick is the most responsive board i have ever ridden. my brother and my friend bobby both bought the 2004 ride timeless. after riding bobby's board, i realized how a board is supposed to respond. it was almost as if it knew what i was about to do before i did it. its one of those boards that doesn't like going slow and shines best at high speeds.



nick also got last year's ride team bindings and this year's burton hail boots. such a slick set up. and they look so hawt together. fashion is such a big part of snowboarding. yes, snowboarding is all about strapping a board to your feet and riding down a mountain, but its the feeling that riding brings out in us that makes us love the sport. the same goes for fashion. its the look good feel better mentality. if you feel you look good, you feel better about yourself. what looks good is different for every person. i'm a fashion whore, so my outfit matching my board and my bindings goes without saying.



hey, you wouldn't buy a car that wasn't the colour you wanted would you?



after setting up nick's board, we pulled out my futon mattress and buckled into our rides for some bouncing action. i really enjoy this exercise. its a great off season way to tune into what its like to be buckled into your board, and get a few bounces in there. but holy crap does it take a lot out of you. a trampoline is way better for bouncing, but alas my room isn't that big. bounces, airs, nose and tail stalls, and balance...all great skills to practice by bouncing on a mattress. a spring mattress is better too for bounce. maybe next time i'll use my bed mattress.



thanks to nick for bringin his camera with him. its been so long since i've had a camera *sob* i really miss takin pix *sob*

later that night i went to my friend bobby and dana's place for their housewarming. they had moved into the apartment upstairs from them, and were having some friends over to break in the new place. nick and i had been drinking the whole time we were playing with our boards, and then after a few drinks at bobby and dana's, i pretty much had the desired effect. by the end of the night, i believe i was a bit annihilated. the bike ride home was a bit wobbly, but i made it home safely. thanks to my friends who encouraged me to wait a bit and drink some water before i jumped on my bike home.

i love my friends. i love snowboarding. i love me.

- normaste \m/^_^\m/

Sunday, October 30, 2005

~*...c'est l'halloween...*~

last night wasn't really halloween, but it was dress up time in the city for those of us old enough to go clubbing in costume. gawd i love halloween. it encourages people to outfit their personality in wildly radical and creative ways without fear, or at least with less fear than any other day of the year.

my evening began at fez batik for my friend daniele's birthday. daniele and his wife kimmy have always been an inspiration to me since before i even met them face to face (met on the om mailing list almost six years ago). daniele is my good friend isa's (isa and darryl) older brother. yah, the genes are good in that family.

there are so many life lessons that i have learned from daniele and kimmy, too many to list here. i'll share with you some of the ones that have resonated with me lately. daniele's age was gettin the better of him, and it negatively affected his self esteem (how i cannot figure out cause holy crap he's gorgeous). that changed one day when one of his friends said to him "daniele why are you letting yourself be old?" we are who we chose to be, and over the past year i've seen daniele radiate with his choice to be the brightest light that is within him, regardless of age. it reminds me of the saying "growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional."

another time, daniele told me a story about him and his wife one day when they were making dinner. he told her "kimmy, everything you want out of life go get it." i asked "because she deserves it?" and he said "no, not because she deserves it, but because that's what life is." thank you daniele for being a bright light in life for me to reflekt. happy birthday brother. yes, i surround myself with many jedis.

myself, daniele, and dena last year good friday. and this is his sister isa. can you see the resemblance? ;)

kimmy is the beautiful soul who reminded me that there are an infinite number of ways to right now. thank you kimmy. i took her wise words and made it my own. now i tell people that there are an infinite number of ways to right meow.

yah, i'll say what you're thinkin...i roll with some beautiful people. the people i surround myself with are beautiful souls, and are also very good looking too. they bring it out in me, and i know i bring it out in them.

after dinner i went to a smaller private halloween party held in a fantasy play space. this place was out of this world. it looked like a regular house outside, but as soon as you walk through the front door you are transported to a different universe. the whole house inside had been converted into a full time fantasy space with six themed play chambers including a victorian boudoir, a class room, an examination room, a transformation salon, a grotto, and a medieval dungeon. i had never ever seen a place like this, yet alone enjoyed it with the most diverse group of people crossing the wonderfully diverse spectrum of races, classes, cultures, genders, ages, sexual orientations, practices, and sexualities. we are blessed to be here in toronto, and events like this remind me of that. we celebrate every colour of the rainbow here in canada.

i left the play party around 3am and headed to a loft party my friends were having. shakin my ass to proper beatz after feasting on flesh was a great way to end my halloween saturday night.

if you ever want to do something fun and different, outfit the creative part of your personality and go out on the town...its even better with friends. it doesn't have to be halloween for you to get dressed up.

normaste \m/^_^\m/