3:34 central time
i am looking at the sun as it tries to hide behind the clouds above the rocky mountains. i am surrounded by beauty beyond anything words can describe. in front of me is a frozen lac beauvert, a large section of which has been cleared to form an outdoor skating rink. an english woman from london has just skated by me. the rockies are breathtaking.
right meow, i am at the fairmont jasper park lodge. i would say that i am a guest, but really i'm just freeloading off myfriends rob and pete. they arrived here in jasper on saturday night. erin hooked them up with a sweet room at staff discount prices. i asked them if i could sleep on the floor in their room...instead we got a cot set up. schweet. we have been taken care of out here. from a pimp room to complimentary bath robes (with slippers), we are living it up like kings.
don't you know who we are? we're sum 41! ;)
erin's friend monica, who also works here, is the employee of the month. the benefits of being employee of the month include 75% off all regular priced menu items at any restaurant at the resort.
yesterdaymorning we ate at the swanky breakfast place in the lodge before heading out to marmot basin. $25 breakfast buffet for only $6. you rool monica!
i've ridden with rob and pete in ontario at blue mountain. rob has a chalet just north of collingwood, and i normally stayed there when we rode weekends at blue. it was great to see them on the other side of the country, and go riding the rockies with 'em.
marmot basin is about 30mins outside of jasper. its a pretty good sized resort with some breathtaking scenery. the snow coverage was a bit lacking though. maybe its because all of the snow is natural, no man made snow here. its a purist mentality which flows freely through this place. that leaves the conditions up to gaia to decide, and so far gaia hasn't been so generous with her gifts to marmot this season. there were some bare spolts, ice, and even exposed rock....sometimes even in the middle of a run you'd see rocks jutting out forcing us to be much more aware of our line.
there was also some good powder in the trees, and some powder that you had to hike to. riding with rob and pete, who have never really ridden anything other than blue mountain, was a rucsh...similar to me when i rode whistler for the first time. the excitement, the awe, the rush of shredding a real mountain for the first time was priceless for them. i was stoked to be riding with friends.
lift tickets were $43 for the day, a discounted price for this time of the year....jasper in january.i wouldn't say the conditions were ideal, but it was definitely better and bigger than blue mountain and worth $43. after riding big white two days before, nothing can compare to the champagne powder that covers big white.
we made it back to the lodge and ordered some bah robes (complimentary thanks to our vip status that erin hooked us up with). the robes are $100 in the gift shop. we paid nothing...even got slippers too. big pimpin!!!
we're sum41!!!
after a long day of riding, rob pete and i headed to the spa in the lodge for some hot tub aktion. man did that ever feel good. a dip in the outdoor swimming pool (yes, we rolled around in the snow and jumped back in the pool) and a wind down in the steam room really did out bodies good.
i find it fascinating to see what the upper class enjoys when they vacation. i could never afford to stay at a posh fairmont resort and get vip treatment. this is completely opposite of the adventure and accomodations that i am about to embark on.
thanks for the hook ups erin. thanks for letting me crash with you guys rob and pete. you all fukkin rool.
i've always known that i was different, from my skin colour to my personality. i've always known i was the same as others around me too...judge me by the content of my character and not the colour of my skin. in toronto, that diversity is common place and encouraged. out here, i haven't come across jamasian dreadlocks, especially here at the jasper park lodge. the rich are almost all white people, with maybe a few asians in there. i love challenging people to think differently as much as i enjoy being challenged by them. the wave of energy that i stimulate in others just by being in the same room is fun to shape, especially when that energy is brought out in rich white people who aren't used to seeing one of me.
grant said that he has never seen someone shape the energy of people like me...he says that i disarm people with me personality. thanks grant.
erin and monica dropped by our room later and we headed to the posh restaurant in the lodge called the moose's nook. this is where the uber rich staying at jpl come to dine. we may not be rich, but we are with the employee of the month. 75% off baby! ooh yah! that is the only way we could afford our meal there.
we're sum41!
so with that discount, of course we had to order he most expensive things on the menu. my $36 filet mignon only cost $9. our $50 bottle of wine (of which we haed two) only cost $12.50. luxury dining at hobo prices. thank you monica. you fukkin rool too!
duck a foie terrine as an appetizer, seafood and cheeze fondue, and chocolate mousse for dessert, two bottles of wine, with tip, our meal came to $25each.
hooked up!
pete and rob ended up crashing, but i joined erin and monica at a local dance bar called athaby's. they say that jasper has the second highest std rate in canada next to banff. being at athaby's i can see why. the sexual energy in there was out of control. meat market isn't even the word to describe it. seeing as i don't normally go to top40 bars, being there was a bit overwhelming. and yes, i was the only coloured guy there. i better get used to it eh?
we took a cab back to the lodge where i passed out. i skipped riding today to relax, and save some cash. rob and pete said the conditions weren't as good as yesterday. just relaxing and sleeping in was great, and i had a 4hour 24 marathon on a&e to keep me company.
i was going to czech my email and update my blog from the business center in the lodge, but $10/hr for internet access is way too rich for my blood. i'm looking forward to having my pc again.
so as i watch the sunset behind the snow covered peaks of the rockies fom the comfy lakeside seats nestled on lac baurvert, i am reminded how blessed we are to live in canada. this country is beautiful, breathtakin, and diverse.
i'm going to spin some poi and channel this prana through movement.
~*...normaste...*~
p.s.our new government is elected tonight. i hope harper does no leadout country. i am not able to vote out here :(
No comments:
Post a Comment