What do you want to do today?

Due Diligence

2012-02-04T17:36:00.002-07:00

Do your due diligence. With everything. Every. Aspect. Of. Your. Life.

That is all.

"Holy Shit" Moments.

2012-02-02T15:04:00.003-07:00

I have 'holy shit' moments all the time.

They can vary in level of 'holy shit.' Sometimes it's a 'holy shit, I'm late for a meeting!' to 'holy shit, look at all that snow!'

My biggest 'holy shit' moment was last Friday, when I booked my flights to Mauritius, via France. I'm going to Mauritius for a wedding, which is awesome in itself. The other piece to this trip is a week in France, on my first ever Buddhist retreat. I'm going to Plum Village.

Holy. Shit.

I've practiced meditation for a little while now, and that too varies, with how life is going. Of late, it's taken a back seat, with all the other activities I have going on (weekends in Revelstoke, cycling after work, etc.) But I've never been a part of a community (or sangha) nor have I really had a teacher. It's all been self study, and the odd talk with my one and only Buddhist friend, Phil.

First time in Europe, first time in a meditation retreat, first time in Mauritius. For the most part, I'll be on my own. And I can't wait.

NSA (no strings attached)

2012-01-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

There's a (presumably) homeless guy that plays a flute around the downtown core. You might have seen him. He's got long dark hair, a mustache, and plays a bunch of random notes, that may or may not resemble a song. He's only got the one song, but he plays it at traffic lights, in the +15 walkways, and in the mall. It has a little ascending "blliiiip!" that comes and goes as he plays his flute.

Every time I hear his random mixture of notes, it makes me smile. I might be walking across the street, and I'll hear him, and every, single, time, the corners of my mouth move up my face, and I continue my walk, my day having been brightened slightly, by the man with the flute.

Yesterday, on my walk home, I got thinking. I wonder how many people, if any, stop to talk to him. I wonder if he gets to have a conversation with anyone, in a day. Has anyone else, like me, smiled at his music, but shamefully not told him so?

I've never thanked him. I've given him some loose change before, and a smile, but I've never actually said anything to him.

Then my mind raced off to the world of 'what if's.' I wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of a busy city, but with no one to talk to. Playing music for the world, that for all I know, falls on deaf ears. Would I still play? Would I try to talk to someone? What if no one wanted to talk to me?

It made my heart so heavy, it almost fell through my boots. I wonder when the last time was that he spoke to his family, or got a present, I thought.

Today I decided that I'd try and make a small difference in a few people's days. I bought a bunch of blank cards, and a few Tim Horton's cards, and have decided to keep some in my purse, each with a little message that hopefully makes someone else smile. I've already written one for the flute man, and hope to see him soon. The card thanks him for brightening my day. I hope it brightens his.

We live in one of the most prosperous cities in the world, and although I've seen amazing acts of altruism (just last week Long View employees donated over ten massive garbage bags full of warm winter clothing and accessories for the homeless shelter - this was collected in three days, and with one email sent out.) and kindness, but I know in my heart I can do more to help those less fortunate. And with no strings attached, either. You know, the "I don't want to give that guy money because he's only going to spend it on booze/crack/whatever" judgments that we all pass onto those who live on the streets.

No strings attached acts of kindness, compassion. It can only lead to helping another person have a slightly brighter day.

Last weekend in Revelstoke

2012-01-25T19:47:00.003-07:00

If last weekend was any kind of indicator of how awesome this year will be, I'm in for the best year of my life.

First of all, I have been out of action on the slopes since new year weekend. I twisted my right knee, and have been on the sidelines for a couple of weeks, waiting for it to heal. So I was really excited to get out to Revelstoke for the weekend.

Leigh and I drove out on Friday night, in relatively acceptable driving conditions. We'd learnt early on Friday that there was a winter storm rolling in, with an anticipated 40cm of snow dropping on our path, so were keen to get to Revelstoke before the blizzard ensued.

We do the drive out fairly regularly, and even though it's nearly 500km away from here, the more we do the drive, the quicker the time seems to pass. On a good day, we can get there in four and a half hours, on a bad day (if the roads are closed, or there's been an accident) it can take twice as long. Thankfully, that's only happened once.

On Friday night, we were jetting along. The roads were in good nick, not icy and not full of traffic. About 40 kilometers out of Revelstoke, Leigh's van (affectionately known as "The Creeper") cut out, and we were stuck on the side of the Trans Canada, with close to a foot of snow on the ground, and flakes the size of quarters falling on our heads! The fuel pump died, and despite Leigh's best efforts to get her started again, we had to call at tow truck.

We ended up getting into town just shy of midnight, and seeing the streets covered in a thick layer of snow meant getting to bed immediately, and up early for the hill in the morning.

Saturday morning, I was picked up at 7am by Leigh and MJ, and we headed over to our friend Ashley's house. Ash had made us a breakfast of champions, so we scoffed that down and went to the ski hill.

The view from Ash's basement living room

The line for the gondola was out onto the road by the time we got there at 8am! It was unbelievable! So we joined the line and waited the 40 minutes to get onto the gondola.

The first run we did was Pitch Black, a run that is normally groomed flat, however due to the foot of fresh powder that landed overnight, it was a run that everyone had forgotten about in their hurry to the top of the mountain. We got fresh tracks all the way to the day lodge, wooping and surfing all the way down the mountain! It was just amazing!

The rest of the day was spent in similar situations, snowboarding on fresh, fluffy snow that was so amazing I could hardly believe it. The day reminded me of being in Jackson Hole, when they received two feet of snow overnight. Same kind of terrain, same kind of pow, same feelings of euphoria.

About 7am, invisible road

Poor Leigh worked on The Creeper all Saturday night, while I sat at the pub and caught up with an old friend from my Fernie days. Leigh spent his night on his back, under a van, fixing the fuel pump. He was able to get it fixed, and patch up the fuel hose enough to get us home safely on Sunday.

But, not without a couple of runs! We headed up the hill for an hour or so before driving back to Calgary, on Sunday afternoon. I was pretty proud of Leigh, he was the MacGyver of the weekend, fixing the van, and getting us home safe.

It was pretty much the best weekend ever.

2011 in review - well, half of it anyway.

2011-12-15T22:50:00.002-07:00

As I look at the date, father time is telling me that it's the middle of January already, and if my shitty attempt at keeping this blog up to date has told me anything, it will be months before I finish this. So, I give you, the first 6 months of 2011, in review. Stay tuned for the second half. Hopefully before the end of 2012!

I remember hearing a quote from a Jack Kornfield pod cast, where he said something along the lines of "today rises, does it's dance, then fades away into history, along with the pyramids and Kuble Khan, and Y2K." 2011 is no exception, but holy frijoles, what a ride it's been!

Upon reflection of 2011, I realized that I haven't really stopped much this year. No act - be it a personal experience or vacation, or a professional project - was half done.

January - Ski season was well upon us in January. Leigh and I were headed out to Revelstoke on a regular basis, hitting the mountain and hitting the bar. I am so lucky on a few levels, to have my friends out in Revy, Marissa and Dave, who let me crash on their couch every weekend, and allow me the luxury of a home away from home. It's always so fun to spend time with them, and get out onto the mountain. CADS was also in full swing, with lessons at COP with my student who I got to hang out with for a second season.

February - Much the same as January. This is by no means a bad thing. It's difficult to explain the weekends in winter in much detail, as they all seem to blur into a similar memory. Leave work Friday, haul ass to Revelstoke, sleep, snowboard, drink beer, rinse repeat, drive home. Hibernate for the work week, then along comes Friday again, and lo and behold, Leigh and I are in the creeper, listening to Soundgarden, and driving through perilous avalanche country, en route to a mountain paradise in British Columbia. Rinse, repeat.

March - In March, my CADS student qualified for a day trip to Nakiska, to go snowboarding. We headed out for a day of 20 below fun in the snow. I remember being so proud of how far along she's come, how much more confidence she has on her snowboard. I also remember how much she had grown since the previous season. Kids blow me away like that. They're a constantly evolving unit, like all of us - but in kids it's just so much more obvious.

March also saw one of the best days of the season for me. Justin and I headed out to Kicking Horse after the weather report had a forecast of 30cm overnight. We were lucky enough to get into Golden just before they shut the pass down for avalanche control. I remember standing at the top of a chute, for my first run of the day, silently shitting it, and dropping into what ended up being one of the best days of my life on a snowboard. We just ended up doing the same run, over and over again, because there was so much fresh snow, and nobody around on the Friday that we were there. Just epic.

Revelstoke in April was surreal. The second last weekend of the season had champagne powder, January powder. Marissa came back for a few runs, and I remember staring in disbelief at the snow conditions from the chair lift. How does that even happen? La Nina is how it happens :)

The season closer was a fun time as well. The last day felt like it was about 20 degrees, and we sweated our way down the hill, as well as having some hang time in the hammocks on the south side of the hill. Right in the sunshine, we sat and enjoyed the beauty of the Columbias, and had a few bevvies to celebrate the epic season.

If the ski season wasn't busy enough, the summer was going to be just as frantic! May saw Leigh, Justin and I get in the Creeper and drive to Sasquatch, a four day music festival in Washington state, USA. Four days of music, sunshine, fabulous new friends, and lots of beer. Highlights of the festival included Foo Fighters playing at sundown on the first night, Chromeo, Flogging Molly and the dance-a-thon, Rodrigo Y Gabriella, Sharon Jones, Pink Martini, and of course, the dance party out the front of the Soy Joy tent!

We made so many great friends at that festival, and it will go down as one of the highlights of 2011.

After Sasquatch, we drove out to Seattle for a couple of nights, and then headed down the 101 to the Oregon coast en route to Portland for my sister's wedding. With two of us being from a country where the ocean is a big part of our life, seeing the Pacific for me, was just lovely. We spent some time on Oregon's famous Cannon Beach, before heading to PDX for a few days.

June saw the three of us in Portland, OR for a massive party with family and friends. My dad came out to visit his two favourite overseas daughters, and it was a really fun time. Justin and Leigh drove back to Calgary, and I spent an extra couple of days in the city of roses with Rach and Dad.

Dad flew back to Calgary with me, and we went on a big tour of my favourite places, including Fernie and Revelstoke, and was happy that I could show why I've chosen to live here. Dad was super impressed, and even made mention of bringing The Jude out next summer (well, this summer now) for a trip. I guess we'll wait and see if that happens.

Part two coming soon!

Letting go.

2011-11-21T20:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my friend Phil and I hung out for the first time in ages. I love hanging out with Phil. He's a curious buddhist like myself, and it's always a really great conversation when we get together.

It was probably close to -15 outside, maybe colder, but the sun was shining, and the sky was a beautiful blue, so we went for a walk down to the river. We talked about recent experiences, reflections, and the focus of our practice for the moment. For me, I have found that the practice of non-attachment has been quite the challenge of late, both personally and professionally. I attach myself to projects, outcomes, drama. It's all ego driven. All about the self.

While I'm still a complete novice at buddhism and walking the path, in the past few months I've noticed a different level of clarity that I'm experiencing. Maybe it's not the practice, maybe it's just growing up. Whatever it is, I have recently noticed that in some situations I'm able to see things from an objective viewpoint. More like an audience than a participant. An observer. A shadow.

Anyway. It doesn't make things any easier, and the choices that I make in the face of impulse are not always right. But it's different to 12 months ago. I see it now.

I remember seeing this clip by Noah Levine about non attachment and relationships. It just resonates with me on so many levels. It's right here, but only the first minute or so. Check it out if you fancy.

But it's all just letting go. Letting go of clinging to a situation, a project, a self induced drama. Being connected, but not clinging. And there is SO MUCH that I allow myself to be attached to, every day. What a crazy, convoluted twisted piece of yarn day to day existence can become! So wild.

Hmmm. Monday night reflection. I still couldn't work out why I was so resentful last week, but those feelings have since past. Last week is in the past, along with Y2K and the Mayans. Isn't that crazy?

Acts of the Mind

2011-11-15T20:44:00.001-07:00

I've been getting way too caught up in my emotions lately.

That's not to say that I'm a blithering mess. Quite the opposite. Frustration. Impatience. Intolerance. Dare I say even anger.

I'm not sure why either. With the exception of work, which often gets passionate (how could it not when you're dealing with people!), everything in my life seems to be on a pretty even keel. I've been doing some super fun things lately, including an epic Foo Fighters concert, a weekend away in the mountains for my work holiday party, laughs with friends and pirate movie marathons. This weekend I'm seeing two awesome bands, The Schomberg Fair on Friday, and The Tea Party on Saturday. Then the following weekend, Revelstoke is opening, a week earlier than planned!

So with all this cool stuff happening, why am I feeling resentful, resistant, and almost like I want to be a recluse?

I don't understand, but I do recognize it. I see you, Mara. What gives?

Giving Thanks

2011-10-09T12:40:00.002-06:00

It's Thanksgiving in Canada.

For me, this is a strange holiday, growing up in the southern hemisphere, when October is spring, the harvest wasn't something that we celebrated. I guess being from a warm climate where tomato plants are considered perennials and can give fruit all year round, I took 'the harvest' for granted.

It's getting colder out. I have a fridge full of my own harvest, from the garden plot I was lucky enough to secure in my community garden this season. Purple carrots. Celebrity tomatoes. Celery, beets, chard, ground cherries. I grew most of them from seed, it's amazing to see the results at this time of year. I have more celery than I know what to do with it, apart from making litre upon litre of vegetable stock - I don't really like celery for much more than that.

So the next few days will likely involve pickling, preserving and making soup stock to freeze for the winter. And reflecting.

See, I have so much to be grateful for. My family, friends, this beautiful city I've fallen in love with, and am fortunate enough to call home. In less than two months I will be literally living my dream in the mountains every weekend, and I don't know many people who can say that they get to do that.

What a lucky girl I am! And today, and every day, I will be mindful of the love and fortune in my life, and never, ever, take it for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving, namaste.

Lauz

Also..

2011-10-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

December the third, twenty eleven. I can't wait for that day. Opening day at Revelstoke. My life will once again, be complete.

There are so many things I need to do before then. A million, zillion squats, a million zillion tricep push ups. A new pair of goggles, and if my best bud Leighroy had his way, a new pair of boots for my pathetic feet that cramp up at the first sight of snow.

I need to find a sports podiatrist, to work out why that's happening. I'd much rather get to the root of the problem, as opposed to adding another pair of useless boots to the growing pile in my hallway.

Does anyone need a pair of used snowboard boots? Size nine, pretty soft, I can't wear them anymore.

I need to wax my boards. They've been used as a stopping device for my bikes for the past few months, so it would probably be a good idea to tune them up too.

A new pair of pants. My black ones are in tatters. And my red ones are also being held together with duct tape. I wish I'd thought about this in the summer time, when everything was on sale.

One of the things I'm really looking forward to is the time that is spent in Leigh's van, otherwise known as "The Creeper." It's a 1996 white Chevy Astrovan, that has been driven pretty much all over the place. Last year we'd be heading out, and The Creeper's front passenger shock had run out of any kind of shock protection, so we floated through the mountains, feeling every single crack and bump on the highway. It was pretty funny.

We also discovered the "Chris Cornell Epic Switch" which basically takes any Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog/Audiogay song from standard to EPIC with no warning whatsoever. Trust me. Listen to "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog and hear what Chrissy Boy does to that song. Truly epic.

And I'm really looking forward to spending more time with Marissa and Dave. I didn't get out to see them much this summer, with life getting in the way and all. Neither of them are getting passes this year, which is a shame.

The trees outside are so beautiful at the moment. The yellows and reds and browns of the fall leaves gives the city a serene look about it. The transition phase of summer to fall gets me excited for things to come.

Enough with the babies already!

2011-10-01T10:24:00.001-06:00

Dear friends,

Please stop having babies. I can't keep up with you all.

Thanks,

Love Lauz.

P-p-p-people

2011-08-15T18:06:00.001-06:00

I was looking through some photos recently, and came across an album from my trip to San Francisco last year. The trip was primarily to go see Faith No More in their home town, as well as experience a city I'd never been to before.

I clicked through the photos and came across some of a street performer, by the name of Jord Peck. This kid was staying in the hostel I was booked into, and I learnt that he'd moved to San Fran from Kansas, to pursue his dreams. He's a gifted one man band, with a cheeky grin and the passion of life sparkling in his eyes.

Funny how a photo, or a quote or even a tweet can get you thinking. I think of Jord, and suddenly feel so honoured to have met and shared a few days of our lives together. I got to watch him perform on Fisherman's Wharf, and have a cup of coffee just up the road at the Starbucks, and just shooting the shit in the hostel dining hall, drinking Tecates and smoking cigarettes.

But it's more than Jord. I think about people I've met for a minute, an hour, a day, a year, a lifetime. People travelling, walking the same way, but all on our own paths. I think of my best friend Nick, and what an impact he's had on my life since I was 14. I think about the candidate I interviewed today, and hope that he finds his ideal role today. I think about my boys, Justin and Leigh, who I've shared a fun year with, almost every day hanging with at least one of them. I think about all the great friends I made in Argentina, and hope to visit them again some day.

And, after reflecting on this, suddenly my heart feels full. Full of the great experiences, and great people I've met along my path.

Personal Writing To Do List

2011-07-19T10:42:00.000-06:00

I've been so slack.

I have so much to write about, and have not even come close to penning one update.

So instead of bee-essing something now, I'm committing a solid chunk of time this week to gittin'er done.

Here's what I have to sort out:

- Melbourne installment of my Australia trip (from NOVEMBER)
- The end of the ski season
- Sasquatch/Seattle/Wedding/Dad
- The Ride
- Zazz Squad 2011
- Stampede (maybe, I'm not sure yet)

FML. Guess it's down to the coffee shop for me tonight.

#30DaysofRAVE - Week 2

2011-04-18T10:47:00.002-06:00

Hello and welcome to the second week of the 30 days of RAVE.

My first rave was Madass 4, in May of 1999. HMC was the headlining DJ. His music still makes me smile.

There are SO MANY HMC tracks, but this is the one I want to share with you today. 6am. Rockin :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI5y3lthv8E&feature=related

Tuesday's track is by Will E Tell. Such an awesome DJ. I wonder what happened to him.

I wasn't *that* much of a trancey-pants in my time. I really loved my acid techno and later moved into breakbeats and drum n bass. But, I do enjoy a nice floaty trance track every now and then. Here's one for you today :) Paul Van Dyk Vs Delerium - Silent Angel

#30DaysofRAVE - Week 1

2011-04-14T15:40:00.005-06:00

I'm taking the thirty day song challenge.

But mine is going to be a bit different. I'm going to make this song challenge, the Thirty Days of Rave.

Techno was a big part of my life a long time ago. I know that's surprising for a lot of people who I've met in the past few years. People know me as a bona fide heavy metal fan, Iron Maiden fan, and general rocker out to shows with heavy guitars. But I don't think I lost my love for techno. It just hid away for awhile.

The next thirty days will be interesting, as there are so many great tracks, and only so many spaces in this project. I'm sure some of the selections will bring back fun memories of dancing in the Melbourne botanical gardens on summer days, and friendships that last lifetimes.

The links I will be adding to this post over the next month will likely be hated by a lot of people. But I also know a lot of people I love in my life will get some laughs and joy out of them.

First cab off the rank, a track that I will likely remember for the rest of my days, The Drone Sector, but Planetary Assault!

Day 2 - Honeysmack, the blow pass.

Honeysmack is the bomb. Acid techno is the bomb. I remember seeing Honeysmack play this track at the closing set at a day festival at Luna Park once, and just as he started tweaking the bejesus out of his 808 (or whatever it was, I'm not a DJ :P ) the heavens opened and just drenched the crowd as they danced their feet off. It was an awesome show!

Enjoy.

Days 3 and 4 (bonus track already!)

I realised I'm going to Revelstoke this weekend and will likely not post for the weekend. So here they are in advance.

U - Shara Nelson and Kasha

Brewster B used to play this one a lot, and it is one of my all time favourites!

Leftfield - Dusted (featuring Roots Manuva)

I feel that Rhythm and Stealth was a bit before its time, or maybe I just wasn't ready for it when I first bought it. I still listen to it now and think it's brilliant. The first track from the album is intense and dark, but so are all the other tracks.

Thought I'd throw in a Leftfield bonus - Afrika Shox. You know why :)

Colour me in red and gold

2011-03-23T10:08:00.002-06:00

Help create an EPIC Impact - The Ride to Conquer Cancer

2011-02-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Epic is my favourite word.

I use it, a lot. In meetings with management, when describing events in my life, including food (man, that was an EPIC curry!).

I use it to emphasise the importance of things that happen, people who matter, and of course, delicious meals.

Describing the Ride to conquer cancer is an opportunity to use the word epic. It's something that I've wanted to do for a few years now, and now have the opportunity to really give back and raise money for the Alberta Cancer Council.

Cancer has touched all of us. It does not discriminate, and causes pain and heartache for loved ones. It's bullshit, if I'm perfectly honest.

So now's our chance to do something about it. I'm going to put my back into it, (literally) and take JJ (my beautiful bicycle) on a two day journey throughout Alberta. And I'm counting on you to help me get there :)

I'll try and do some training videos to keep you updated on my process - you'll get a good laugh, that's for sure!

So dig deep, friends! I thank you for your support, and thank you for helping to conquer cancer - now that's EPIC.

Click here to donate today!

Surprise! A 'secret' trip to Australia. Part two - Perth.

2011-02-05T21:46:00.001-07:00

The flight to Perth was very exciting. We boarded the plane after sitting in the delux shiatsu massage chairs at our gate. Now that's how you spend two dollars!

Landing in Perth, and getting our gear was fine and well - however the second we stepped outside, we were hit with a wall of humidity that I did not expect to experience in Western Australia. Meredith and I gasped and headed for the taxi line. We jumped a cab and headed over to my dear friend Greg C's house. I was pretty excited to see him, as it'd been three years since we said cheerio to each other in Argentina. I was also really excited to meet his wife Jodie, who Greg C married a few months earlier.

We arrive and immediately feel at home. Hugs from Greg C and a surprise "Lauzzie!!!" from around the corner - it was Edd, my roomie from our season in Las Lenas, who was lurking in the kitchen! What a wonderful welcome home to Perth.

The next morning Greg C and Jodie gave us a ride down to Fremantle. I wanted to show Meredith the area, and of course, catch up with some friends at Little Creatures, the best beer brewery in the freaking world!
As we walked around, we hopped into the Fremantle market, where we stumbled upon a beautiful store. A lady was making all kinds of things out of recycled materials: tyre tubes, cassette tapes, gumboots. She had expertly re purposed an inner tube from a truck tyre into a beautiful purse complete with a seat belt as a strap! Wallets made from old cassettes - I was hoping to see a Bruce Springsteen one!

Jumping over the road to the Sail and Anchor, a pub where I had spent many a Sunday with my friends Greg K, (different Greg!) Erica, Joe and Dale. They have a beautiful veranda, so we went to sit and enjoy the Sunday. It was SO humid, I couldn't believe it! Joe arrived and sat with us before we went for a wander across the park to Little Creatures.

Poor Meredith - I felt bad, because she's not much of a booze hound, unlike yours truly who enjoys a beer or two. But I think she enjoyed her time there! We were met by a group of wonderful friends and we ordered kangaroo, prawns, frites with aioli (err... aorta, Greg K!) and laughed and laughed. Greg C and Jodie popped by a bit later to join the party.

The sad news was I only got to hang out with Greg C for a couple of days. He was starting a new job as a geologist up in northern WA, so we had Monday together and then he was off first thing Tuesday. So, on Monday, we took Meredith to do "Perth in a day". We started at Hillary's boat harbour, and welcomed the noon with a lovely pint of beer overlooking the harbour. Driving south, we hit my old stomping ground of Scarborough, and dipped our toes in the ocean. We did a drive by past my old house, which brought back happy memories for me. I forgot how much I missed this place!

Continuing our trip south, we arrived at the Fremantle Cemetery. This was a pilgrimage of great importance - the original lead singer from AC/DC, Bon Scott, has a memorial here, and we came to pay our rock and roll respects to the legend. Greg and Meredith hadn't been before, but I had been a few times, and knew exactly where to find him.

I normally get eeked out by cemeteries. But this one is different. I feel at ease walking through the historical graves, reading and paying respects to the lives that are marked before me. Some of the graves go back into the 1800's and I find it hard to fathom the immensity of time that separates us.

So we hung out with Bon for a bit, and then headed back towards Greg's house. On the way we stopped off at Kings Park, a beautiful park just beyond the downtown. Meredith was able to capture some beautiful photos, including one of a big old storm cloud coming in to rattle the city.

Greg is also the reason why I want to buy a Subaru Outback. Captain awesome gave me the keys to his car and said we could use it while he was away for work. Thanks again darlin!

Meredith and I hit the road on Monday night, en route to Safety Bay where my dear friends and former roomies Greg K and Erica (aka Rex) live with their dog, Dog.

Let me just say this: Safety Bay is beautiful. Full of old people, but beautiful all the same. Greg and Rex were on the ball, with delicious food and lovely cold beer in the fridge. It was great to hang out, eat, drink, and be merry with them!

We hit a winery in Jarrahdale, had oysters for breakfast, and spent lots of time on the beach with Dog. Greg and Rex also hosted the most delicious pizza party I've ever been to, with homemade gourmet pizza, wine and great company.

One day we decided to drive to Busselton to get ice cream. We figured we could hit the Busselton Jetty, (longest in the southern hemisphere, at about 2 miles if my memory serves me correctly) then come home again. We got there, and the jetty was closed for restoration works! So, we figured we'd just drive to Margaret River instead.

We went to surfers point, checked out the waves, collected some sand, and drove back again. It was a brilliant day in the car, I just loved it! I have to say, that car is awesome on the road. I can't wait to have my own!

We had a brief visit with my friend Kassey and the new man in her life. Kassey's son's name is Toby, and he was about 10 months old. He has beautiful blue eyes, and is quite the charmer! We sat and visited for a while, as Tobey climbed over the three of us, before finally falling asleep on Mum's lap. Such a cutie. I'll try and find a photo of him to add to the gallery (when I get it organised!).

Fremantle, before boarding the red eye to Melbourne. The red eye was on purpose - it was so we could arrive in Melbourne on the morning of my Dad's birthday.

Thank you Perth, for a wonderful trip. xox

Surprise! A 'secret' trip to Australia. Part one - Sydney.

2010-12-30T12:02:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I've last written. And with good reason. Mainly because I was preparing my first trip home in 4 years. Something of a secret, to surprise my dad for his birthday. I know he reads this (hi Dad!) so I felt it be better that I not write anything, in an attempt to keep the surprise alive for him, and for me.

On Monday 15th November, my friend Meredith and I got on a flight out of Vancouver across the Pacific to Sydney. Personally, I felt the timing was perfect: I literally escaped a blizzard and two week cold snap in Calgary. (For my friends in warmer climates, Calgary got hit with about 40cm of snow, and two weeks of -30 and lower temperatures. In fact, Calgary made the news in Australia, being the second coldest place on earth next to Antarctica - how's that for perfect timing!)

We arrived in Sydney to a warm welcome on a few accounts. First off, it wasn't snowing, it was a balmy 20 degrees above zero. We were to be met at the airport by my dear friend Steve who I worked with back in Australia. However. Before being reunited with Steve, we were met by a friendly face in customs saying "we would like to perform additional screening."

Fair enough. My bag was pulled to pieces by a very friendly Irish-Australian customs officer. He went through EVERYTHING - clothes, books, read my journal and asked me questions that, having been on a 15 hour flight, took me a little while to answer. We were then approached by a lady who advised us that we were going to be patted down on suspicion of drugs. I laughed and said fine, I had nothing to hide. Now when they said pat down, it was more like an awkward grope that a 15 year old boy might try and make on his very shy highschool sweetheart for the first time. After being cleared by customs, a full hour after we landed, we laughed it off and labeled our experience the "Sydney Surprise."

Steve was waiting for us when we got out, and it was so great to see him. It had been a good five years since we'd seen eachother, and I was stoked to be in his company again.

Sydney was a blast. Steve had taken the week off work so we could have him all to ourselves, which was A Grade awesome. Steve was the best host, taking us to all the beautiful beaches, and keeping us awake, so we could get to sleep at the right time. We hung out at Bondi, and Maroubra beaches, had a beer at Watsons bay at sunset, and met up with Steves friend for dinner in a fancy area of town. It reminded me a lot of 17th Avenue in Calgary, or Chapel Street in Melbourne. By the time we had made it to dinner, I was so exhausted I couldn't talk properly or even take part in a proper conversation - sleep deprivation can be funny, I guess!

The next day Steve took us to Taronga Zoo. We took the ferry across the harbour, and had beautiful views of the harbour bridge and opera house on the way to the zoo. For those who haven't been to Taronga Zoo, it is brilliant. It is set on a hill right by the harbour. You take a gondola up to the top and walk down through the animal enclosures.

Now I haven't been to the zoo in years, and I think Taronga was the best reintroduction to how awesome they can be! What a beautiful piece of the world. We got to see the seal show, which was epic, and Taronga's baby elephant play with a tyre swing. We saw the gorillas at feeding time, and holy moley are those guys massive!

I had forgotten about the free roaming peacocks in the zoo. We saw a few of them about, shaking their beautiful feathers in a lovely display. Meredith also learnt that if you get too close to them, while in full display, the peacock will "shake" at you, making a surprisingly scary noise with his feathers.

The following day I had booked a coffee meeting with the brilliant Greg Savage. I've been following Greg's blog and twitter account for over a year now, and he is a thought leader in the recruitment industry. We had a great chat, talking about Greg's new company, Firebrand, (a search agency "specializing in recruitment solutions for marketing, creative and digital industries.") and Long View as well as a chat about social media as a tool for the recruiting industry. Greg's blog "The Savage Truth" has been a prime source of information and inspiration for me as I continue to build my career, and I want to thank him for the support he's given me, even though he probably doesn't know it!

Meredith and I spent the rest of the day shopping and catching up with friends for a few drinks right under the bridge. It was a client party that Steve was able to get us into, and what a fun night it was!

On our last day in Sydney, we went to the Australian Hotel where we enjoyed a "coat of arms" pizza. Half Kangaroo, half Emu. It was the most delicious pizza I've experienced! My dear friend Eloise and her husband Ben came past to join us for a pint, and all of a sudden it was time to go to the airport, bound for Perth, WA.

What a great start to a brilliant trip! I will write about Perth shortly, and post some pictures in the coming weeks.

Love Lauz.

hahahahaha... A Giraffe!

2010-10-26T11:18:00.000-06:00

December The Third.

2010-10-12T20:34:00.000-06:00

As most of you are probably painfully aware, I love to snowboard. It's the reason I came to Canada, went to Argentina, and came back again. Granted, there have been other things happen (awesome job, awesome friends, awesome apartment) that have kept me here, but the number one reason has always been to ride the mountains when they're covered in snow.

I just checked my calendar. Seven weeks till the season starts. Seven weeks until December The Third. Opening day at Revelstoke. I am so excited about it that I pulled out my snow pants this evening to make sure they were all patched up and still fit, so I wouldn't be caught short.

I've started at the gym again too. It's weird. Most people go to the gym to get ready for the summer. I do it to gear up for the winter. It's going to be another crazy busy winter, with CADS two nights a week, and Revi (hopefully) every weekend.

Super Soup!

2010-09-15T13:01:00.000-06:00

I love soup.

Everything about soup, from the process of creating the stuff, including making veggie broth from scratch - to tasting an array of flavours in one spoonful - the heart warming feeling of tucking into a bowl of delicious, passion infused goodness fresh from the garden - literally.

Last week my dear friend Yana gave me her family traditional borscht recipe from Ukraine. I'd never tried to make borscht before, however with an abundance of fresh grown beets at my disposal, I thought I'd give it a crack.

It was delicious. Here's a photo from @lonnietaylor, as I didn't actually take any.

Next up was Curried Yam and Coconut soup, that I kind of MacGyver'd myself. See, one recipe called for curried butternut squash and pear, another for yam and coconut. I decided to combine the two, and see what would happen.

It too, was delicious :)

I think the secret to a great soup, is a great stock. Up until a few years ago, I used broth from the supermarket, but in 2008, I bought the Fresh Cookbook from my favourite restaurant in Toronto. I realized then what an amazing difference a good stock brings to the soup! It's also insanely cheap to make your own veggie stock, especially when you have a patio vegetable garden to pick the ingredients from!

I'll post photos of soup as I create it, and add them to the "soup files" for everyone to enjoy :)

Later,

Lauz

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-09-14T22:02:00.000-06:00

The final days of Canada's summer of 2010 are upon us. Its getting cool here, and there are even leaves on the ground, from trees that gave up early, and decided to shed before fall officially arrived.

The transformation of the world around us, during the change of the seasons is always fascinating to me. Calgary is a place that actually has four distinct seasons, where you get to witness and experience each season to its fullest.

And it never ceases to amaze me just how quickly the trees turn to yellow, and red, essentially "shutting up shop" for the next six months. And the weather network is even predicting up to five centimetres of SNOW on the last day of Canada's summer. At least last year it waited until October!

As excited as I am for the snow to get here, I don't want to wish the fall away. It's a beautiful time in the city, in Canada. I'll try and document it as much as I can

The beautiful complexity of simplicity

2010-07-25T20:09:00.000-06:00

Drama is such bullshit, isn't it?

This past week I let drama into my life. And as a result, I'm exhausted.

Yet, it was so easy to be tangled up in it, like a salmon caught in a fishing net. So strange, that I, Laura, after nearly 30 years on this earth and a promise to myself YEARS AGO that I would recognise bullshit when it comes my way, and consequently dodge, that I would be entrenched in something that is simply not worth the oxygen.

I won't go into the details, however let's just say that I felt like I was in high school again.

At coffee today, my new neighbour Farzana was telling me what it was like to live in Afghanistan where she was an expatriate for a few years. The way she described that it was the simplicity of life, and not taking their existence for granted gave her friends an appreciation and thirst for life that is displayed in few people in lucky countries like Canada, Australia (with the exception of perhaps the ill, poor, and spiritually awakened) wherever.

And it made me think. I have essentially wasted this past week of my life, giving in to attachment to drama, to minuscule bullshit, that in a years time I will have forgotten about. I will let it go, but it was important for me to recognize and record, so that if something like this comes up again, I have a written reminder of how important it is to 'step away from the vehicle,' as an old friend used to say.

It's time to return to my yoga practice, time to revisit peace, and the serenity in being still, and seeing all for what it really is.

Hope this update isn't too cryptic.

Happy Sunday, Namaste.

Lauz

Life is what happens when you're busy making plans

2010-07-15T21:57:00.001-06:00

I feel like I've neglected my writing in the past month or so. Life has been so intensely busy and such a whirlwind of events, changes and emotional experiences that all of a sudden I'm staring into the middle of July without even noticing it's halfway over.

So many things have happened: the week of rock that included Iron Maiden and Sled Island; quitting Sapphire; starting at Long View; Stampede... when it's written down it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but all the detail and life that happened in each of said events - it's exhausting and exhilarating to reflect on!

First things first: Sapphire and I have parted ways. I was going through the interview process with Long View Systems, and made the huge decision to say goodbye to a company that has given me so much in my career as a recruitment specialist. Those who know me, know that I'm not a job hopper, and that I take my career pretty seriously, as well as the decision to join a company that I'm pretty sure I could retire at.

The very act of resigning was such a stress for me. I was nervous about having that conversation with my boss, but he made it so easy and was very supportive of my decision to leave. I took a week off in between, which just happened to be the week of rock.

I won tickets to the Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier" show, thanks to a Twitter competition. Thanks to the power of social media, I was able to take my friend Mike to his very first Iron Maiden show. It was great - they played a bunch of stuff from "A Matter of Life and Death" and a bunch of their newer albums. Of course there were a couple of classics, Hallowed be Thy Name, Iron Maiden, Running Free, Number of the Beast.. I hope Mike enjoyed it. I know he's not that much of a Maiden fan, but I think everyone should see them live at least once in their life :)

Sled Island is a four day, multi-venue music festival that makes the heart of Calgary's music scene beat excitedly. For four days, the city was overrun by "weird indie kids on 80's vintage 10 speeds" racing around from venue to venue to catch their favourite bands. I volunteered to work at the largest all-ages venue, Olympic Plaza, where Dinosaur Jr, The Melvins, No Means No, Hot Water Music, The Bronx, The Thermals, and many many more played over two days. In return for volunteering, I was given a free pass to all the shows which was a fantastic reward for helping out at a festival. I couldn't begin to tell you how many bands I saw, but some of the highlights included:

- Seeing The Provincial Archive for the first time
- Mariachi El Bronx
- The Melvins
- The Thermals
- PASSENGER ACTION!!!
- Dinosaur Jr
- An impromptu 'shirts off' after party in the early hours of Sunday morning at Broken City, where WhoMadeWho played what seemed like a multiple hour set

I made friends with a band called C'Mon, a deadly rock and roll band who I ended up seeing play three times! I was so impressed with them that when I met them I was almost as blown away as when I met Faith No More in April.

After Sled Island closed'er down for 2010, I had a couple of days to myself before starting with Long View.

The first day at Long View was a confirmation that I had made the right decision. I walked into the People Services department and within a few hours I felt like I was part of the furniture. My team are amazing, passionate people who care about what they do, and the values the company holds so dear aligns with their own. I'm proud to be a part of such an inspiring team.

Stampede has been happening for almost a week now, and amid the usual debauchery in the city and controversy surrounding the rodeo, I've been relatively tame compared to last years antics.

I've been so busy running around that sitting here on the couch, writing, and listening to the Smiths, almost seems odd. I almost forgot the peace there is in solitude, and reflection.

With that friends, I'll sign off. I hope everyone is well and happy, wherever you are.

I gotta go get my laundry.

Love,

Lauz

Jethro-Jamis, the love of my life

2010-06-03T16:04:00.002-06:00

I am in love with my bike.

His name is Jethro-Jamis. I like to call him JJ. He is a Jamis Sputnik fixed gear piece of genius that I don't think I could live without.

Most of you know that the previous love of my life, Trevor, was a bright blue, bad assed town bike, that I named after Weebl's flash cartoon, Magical Trevor: Trevor and I broke up when JJ came on the scene, and has since moved to the Queen Charlotte Islands in beautiful BC.

Trevor was awesome. We had a lot of fun together. We even went to Tofino for a long weekend!

But it was time for us to break up. Enter, into my cycling life, Jethro-Jamis.

JJ is amazing. Everything is driven by the energy I put into the ride. Being fixed gear, JJ lets me control how fast or slow I go. I'm even learning how to balance at traffic lights, without taking my feet off the pedals. A super responsive bike, so in tune with the road, and just a wonder to ride.

Officially in love. Can't wait to hit the road tonight!

#bikegeek

Burgundy BMW SUV

2010-05-19T21:11:00.001-06:00

I really didn't think I'd be writing two of these in a week.

So tonight I got into a fight of sorts, with a burgundy BMW SUV. This guy was an asshole, so I'm going to call him, Mr Jackass, or just Mr J for short.

Mr J, you successfully scared the shit out of me tonight. By driving so close to me, so fast, on purpose, on multiple occasions, I truly thought my life was going to end.

First off, it was a casual little honk on your horn, going west up 6th ave, towards 5th street SW. As you saw, there was construction on the left hand sidewalk, that took over much of the left hand lane, so I was as far to my left as I possibly could be.

You drove past me with maybe 3 inches between me, vulnerable on a 10lb bicycle, and your drivers side side window. In your impenetrable steel protective vehicle, the glorious BMW SUV. I hope you felt safe, from me and my aggressive BICYCLE.

When the car in front of you blocked you from going left at 5th, I carefully made my way between you and the closed lane, and turned left, also in the left lane, onto 5th Street. There was more construction and a crane, I believe, in the left hand lane. This was shut off by multiple pylons. I was sandwiched between a car in front, and you. You honked me, and moved very aggressively towards my 10lb bicycle.

Tell me, Mr J, where was I supposed to go?

I turned and looked at you, and asked you "where do you want me to go?"

You yelled abuse at me, through your glass window, that you didn't even roll down.

Then, Mr J, you zoomed off, into the right lane, only to get caught at the 8th Ave light. I was behind you on the 7th Ave light.

As I rode my bicycle southbound on 5th street, you got stuck in traffic. I was able to go past you, and wait for the light to change on the next intersection. I thought that was it, you might have recovered from your moment of insanity, temporary rage at me, a person you have never, and probably will never meet.

Then, two blocks later, you thought it was appropriate to fly by me again, this time, your passenger side mirror missing me by about, 4 inches. You went past at about 65 km/hr. Maybe more. I knew you had it in for me, because there was another cyclist about 100 metres in front, and you gave him a whole lane way's worth of space, before overtaking and turning right up 17th avenue.

Just so you know, Mr Jackass, if you had miscalculated your dumbass maneuver by 1-2 inches, you could have killed me.

Do me a favour. Look into your kids eyes tonight. Give your wife a hug. Tell her you love her. Then imagine her on that 10lb bicycle you nearly ran off the road today. And ask yourself, what for?

I have very recently stopped shaking from this incident today. And I want you to know that if I'd remembered your licence plate, I would have reported you to the police. You were a pathetic excuse for a human being today. And I hope that extra 2 seconds you got at 17th ave was worth it.

I'll be watching for you and your burgundy BMW SUV, Mr J. And next time I see you behave like this behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, I will get your licence plate, and I will report you for reckless driving.

Laura.

Dear Motor Enthusiast. Cyclists are people too!

2010-05-13T17:34:00.000-06:00

Hello, Motor Enthusiast.

My name is Laura. I don't know yours, but I did memorize your Alberta licence plate, so I am going to call you Mr. RCK 345. So we're on friendly terms.

Mr RCK 345, I was that girl on the bright blue cruiser bicycle, making my way home on 2nd Street today. See, I use 2nd Street, because the wonderful City of Calgary made the road extra wide to facilitate a bike lane on the outside of the road. You might have seen the big bike sign painted on the road, as you nearly pushed me into a stationary vehicle outside the library.

While that smart little maneuver of yours might have gotten you in front of one car, you came way too close to me for comfort. Unlike you, Mr RCK 345, I do not have rear view mirrors, and trust that when I am in the bike lane, people like your kind self stay out of it out of respect for me, as a fellow human. To keep me safe.

I'll let you in on a secret Mr RCK 345. While you are sitting in your lovely Oldsmobile, protected by steel and air bags, and electric windows, there is nothing protecting me from people like you, coming up from behind, and racing past me with little distance or margin for error on your part. If you had not swerved left at the last minute, I would probably be in an ambulance by now, en route to the emergency room. You would probably be being interviewed by the police, for reckless driving. You might also be cursing yourself for being so impatient, and wondering if I was alive or just paralyzed. Good for you, and your quick reflexes. The fact that I got home alive, I applaud you for your skill.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but I gave you the middle finger salute as your Oldsmobile zoomed past me, exhaling a cloud of black smoke upon your acceleration. You might also not have noticed my intent stare in your window as I caught up to you and passed you while you were stuck at a red light on 17th avenue. I really hope your passing that one car was worth the fright you gave me with your hurry to get home as quick as you can, to sit on your bum watching hour upon hour of TV until bed time. But, if you did notice, I really hope that you understand why I did those things.

Because I, as a cyclist, value my life. I love being able to ride my bike through Calgary. It saddens me that you, like many Calgarians, are impatient with cyclists. Yeah, some of us are true assholes on the road. I myself will admit that riding in Calgary's city streets has made me more aggressive on the road. I have to be. Because if I'm not, you will most certainly be more aggressive, and that could spell death for me, and a potential jail sentence for you.

I'm not mad, Mr RCK 345. I am just asking you to remember one thing. Tomorrow, when you are driving home, please watch for cyclists. We CHOOSE to ride our bikes, just like you choose to drive your car. It doesn't make our lives less valuable. If my family were to be notified of my death due to a reckless driver, it would not make the pain any less real.

I respectfully ask you, and other drivers in Calgary, and world wide, to be respectful of our choices as cyclists, and share the road.

Thank you.

Laura.

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T10:47:00.001-06:00

An open letter to my mum, known to all my friends as "The Jude"

Hi Mum,

Happy Mother's Day! I'm sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you.

I've been a bit reflective in the past few days, thinking about all the amazing things you've done for me as my mum, but also as my friend. For example, in recent years, you have:

..sent me perfume just because you had a hunch that I was down and needed a pick-me-up/

..flew across the world to visit and see my new home in Calgary.

..sold my car for me when I left Australia when I didn't have the heart to do it myself

..bailed me out when I was stranded and destitute in multiple countries across the world

..sent me care packages of Vegemite and Tim Tams and Bonds socks when you thought I needed a taste of home. (and when I was out of vegemite!)

...took in my cat Heineken when I moved to Western Australia for work.

..listen to my frustrations, you let me swear and yell and scream, and help me work out the issue at hand.

..let me help you with your frustrations and challenges - not as much swearing as me, but close!

..pushed me when I needed to be pushed, and backed off when I needed space

..been instrumental in helping me become the person that I am today, all thanks to your love and support, even if sometimes you didn't agree with the way my path was turning

Thank you Mum, for being the best possible mum I could ever have. There may be an ocean between us, but I truly believe that these days we are closer than ever.

Hope you had fun with Grandma, and she whooped your butt at Scrabble!

I love you,

Laura

Day 2

2010-05-04T13:37:00.000-06:00

Of my cleanse. And I'm JONESIN' for a Tim Hortons. Like you wouldn't believe.

I woke up this morning at 2am thinking that my house had been removed from its foundations by a tornado and was relocating me to space. That's how windy it was.

And now, the snow is not falling, its flying upwards in a Christmas TV special-esque nightmare that used to be glorious spring.

I do have an update from my holiday, I just have to pretty it up a bit. I'll post it soon.

Oh. And chocolate. I'd kill a fluffy small animal for a bag of mini-eggs right about now. And to think - 28 days of this to come.

At least this time I'm not having super anxiety/withdrawl symptoms that resembled that of a mini cardiac arrest.

Best night ever. April 14th, 2010.

2010-04-27T13:12:00.000-06:00

I'm not even kidding.

Ciao for now!!

2010-04-08T21:20:00.001-06:00

See you in 10 days, Calgary.

Alex Rivera

2010-04-06T11:08:00.000-06:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of the death of my dear friend, Alex Rivera.

Alex fought bravely against an aggressive malignant brain tumour, and our world felt a bit darker when he finally let go.

Alex, I miss you, and love you. I think about you lots, and still smile at the fun times we had together.

Besos, mi amigo.

This will probably not happen when Im in California...

2010-04-05T10:32:00.001-06:00

But I'm totally going to go surfing anyway. I haven't been in about 5 years, so it's going to be a shit show.

Great Expectations

2010-04-04T21:38:00.000-06:00

I'm listening to The Gaslight Anthem's song "Great Expectations" and there is a line in it towards the end that goes:

"You're always waiting for something to happen..."

I guess so. Here I am, waiting for the night to be over, so I can go to work, and wait the last 4 days away until I'm on the plane to sunny California. Waiting for the spring to get a move on so I can plant my sweet vegetable garden. Looking into the future.

What am I missing right now?

Am I missing a moment of present time contentment, by pushing it aside and looking to the future? Am I so desperate to get away that I am overlooking every day beauties that have kept me in love with Calgary for the past two years? Plus, am I clinging to the stress of the past few months in a bizarre case of self torture?

DRAMATIC!

Still, I whisper to myself "What's the deal, Lauz?"

I feel like there's something missing, yet having a hard time identifying what it is. When I work it out I'll let you know. I think. *sigh.* I think I should have a glass of wine.

PS - Mago didn't visit today. It saddened me.

#BlameCancer

2010-04-02T09:53:00.000-06:00

I've been sitting on Twitter this morning, and a post came up from @thatdrew that talked about a girl who had just come out of surgery after having some tumours removed. She'd lost a lot of blood but was in recovery. As I clicked around, I found the profile of the girl who was suffering from this horrible disease.

Her name is Christina. That is all I know about her. And yet I am close to tears just thinking about the ordeal she just went through. And as I think about her, images of friends I've known who have gone into battle against this evil enemy. I think mostly about my friend Alex, who after a courageous fight against a brain tumour, was taken from us almost a year ago.

And as the sun shines this morning on Calgary, my thoughts are with Christina, Drew, and their allies in the seemingly endless war against this... asshole.

Namaste to you all.

xo

Guess who's going to San Francisco?

2010-04-01T21:22:00.000-06:00

I am!!

I am SO excited. In just over a weeks time, I'll be landing in California. I'll be by the ocean for the first time in nearly a year. And I'll be gearing up to see Faith No More.

When I was 12 (I think) my mums friend Antigoni took me to see Faith No More play at Festival Hall in Melbourne. They were on tour for their Angel Dust album, which, at the time, I knew nothing about. In fact, I didn't even know who the band was, just that Antigoni had a spare ticket and Mum knew I'd like to see a concert.

I didn't realize it would change my life forever.

(I just realized something else - my mother, The Jude, inadvertently introduced me to a band that has inspired me in my life more than words could describe. Thanks Mum x)

I remember them coming out, all dressed in boxing robes. They were all wearing boxing gloves, and ran out onto the stage to screaming fans. Jumping Jacks, shadow boxing, and warm up 'laps' up and down the stage. Then they played, for what seemed like hours. At the time, I didn't know the songs, or the guitar riffs, or even who Mike Patton was, but I remember coming out of that concert feeling exhilarated and overwhelmed, and riding as high on adrenaline that a 12 year old girl could feel.

Fast forward to now, and I have seen Faith No More play multiple times, as well as Mike Patton's side projects, including Mr Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantomas and one unforgettable night with Patton at the Tote in Melbourne, accompanied by a microphone, and a scratch DJ.

When Faith No More broke up over ten years ago, I was heartbroken. Here is a band that (like everyone else who has a favourite band) got me through high school, through an awkward adolescence, and safely through to university. And all of a sudden, there were no more new albums to look forward to, no more chances of seeing them live again - ever.

Until last year, when the smug motherfuckers decided to announce a reunion tour. In Europe. Then Australia. And now, FINALLY, they are coming home to San Francisco, to play a small little room of 2500 people, after running the gauntlet of festival audiences of 30,000 odd faces staring at them at once.

And I'm going to see them.

And, all of a sudden, I'm taken back to that little girl nearly 20 years ago, who walked out of a concert wondering what the hell it was she just witnessed.

I'll be posting pictures for your viewing pleasure/eyes of envy.

Mago, el Gato Negro

2010-03-28T21:43:00.000-06:00

I love weekend mornings.

Now that the spring is here, getting up early(ish) on weekends is a luxury of mine. The sun is up early, and blazing into my east facing windows. Still on auto pilot, I go straight to the kitchen, put on the kettle, and prepare a pot of delicious and strong coffee.

Every weekend, since it's been warm enough to open my patio door, I've been visited by a little black cat. He has bright green eyes, and is very timid. He won't let me touch him just yet, and will scare away easily. But the second I open my door, he comes on in, and has a poke around my apartment.

At this point in time I'm not 100% sure if he's a stray. I've seen him around the neighbourhood before, running across the street, and over rooftops. I've even seen him on my patio before, back when the sun was with us last year.

I've decided to call him Mago, which in Spanish, means the Magician.

I really look forward to when Mago comes to visit, although he's still very wary of me, he knows I won't hurt him. The only obstacle Mago faces for our visits, is the giant apartment that was just built by a family of magpies in the driveway's southern tree. It's probably the biggest nest I've seen built by an urban bird.

In any case, the magpies think they own my patio, and will cry foul whenever Mago is hanging out. Hopefully he'll grow big and strong enough to just kick some serious magpie ass.

Next time Mago comes over I'll try and get a photo to share.

Weekend's here and I'm dreaming of home

2010-03-27T10:03:00.000-06:00

Literally.

I woke up dreaming that I was in my old bedroom at my parents place. I could hear Dad mowing the grass in the back yard, and Mum's doing her typical "Vaccum right outside Laura's door so she'll bloody wake up" trick.

My cat, Heineken is lazing on my bed with me, and lazily playing with the blinds.

I know the sun is shining outside, but can't be bothered moving. The vaccuming gets louder and Mum 'taps' my door with the nozzle. Heineken's lazy play has become a full out assault with the blinds. Still, it's better than when she used to play her run-at-the-curtains-and-climb-up-them-at-5am game. That was REALLY annoying.

That was my dream.

It was so annoying when I lived there, but feels like such a comfort thinking about it now. I wonder if Mum still has the same vaccum cleaner.

The Story of Bottled Water

2010-03-26T15:09:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of Wakooz.

I'm boycotting bottled water.

Do you dare try yourself?

It's not you, Facebook.. well, actually - it is you.

2010-03-24T16:36:00.000-06:00

I deactivated my Facebook account.

Yes, yes. I got rid of probably the only way to maintain contact with my 500 or so 'friends,' who have forgotten to use the phone, email, or other means of communication. Once again, I have lost contact with school colleagues I didn't talk to in the twelfth grade anyway. I have pulled the switch of communication, my voyeuristic lifeline to the outside world of social networking between my pals online.

Facebook, you're dumped.

"Wheooooooooooooooo!!!" I hear you say. "Not Facebook!! What are you doing?!?!?!"

Well, I'm taking back my freedom.

I'm freeing myself of the electronic 'social' melodrama, of watching passive aggressive status updates from jilted housewife 'friends.'

I'm liberating myself. I am taking back my spare time. I am emancipating myself from the mafia wars, the farmville, the 'look at me' pathetic excuse of a 'social' site.

It's not social. Social is picking up the phone and having a conversation. I have friends who don't even email anymore, it's a message online, or a reply to a wall post, or WHATEVER!!!!

And you know what the worst part is? I played your game, Facebook. I too, fell prey to the instant messaging convenience, forsaking picking up my cell and hearing a voice on the other end saying "Hey Laura, it's great to hear your voice!"

I clicked through the same photos, on the same profiles, and cyber-stalked my way through people I didn't know too well, ex-boyfriends, ex-friends...

And what for?

To waste precious time. To kill a few braincells. To numb out to the real world that is constantly turning and changing outside my apartment.

Enough is enough.

Facebook, I've decided, for ME, is that you are a piss poor excuse to stare into the windows of other peoples lives, anonymously, cloaked by the cover of the internet.

Some people describe voyeurism as anti-social behaviour. So why is e-voyeurism classified as just the opposite? How do you get away with it, Facebook? You're like the ultimate double standard. The epitome of hypocrisy.

Anyway. Those of you who know me, know how to find me. This might just be a temporary thing, I'm not sure if it's the permanent break up just yet, but for now, it's right for me, Facebook, to try and make it on my own.

And in the blink of an eye, it was March.

2010-03-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not kidding. I flipped over to the next calendar page, which shockingly revealed that it was March. And that was LAST MONDAY. Although, there is a pretty sweet picture of a mama and baby cougar adorning my wall for the next few weeks.

All of a sudden, my voluntary work at CADS had come to an end. Eight weeks of lessons, eight weeks of learning and developing skills and confidence on her snowboard. Before the end of lessons, she was shredding COP! She even had the audacity to convince me to take her into the park. And I hate the park!

I'll never forget how I felt when I saw the lights go on with her. We were riding down the west side of COP, and I yelled at her to turn. She was so apprehensive of being on her toe edge, that she would always try and wrangle her way out of it. "TURN!" I yelled at the top of my voice. She linked perfectly from her heels to her toes, and as she did, looked up at me as if to say "Look what I did!!" Then she turned again, toe to heel. And again - consecutive turns all the way down the run, and every time she was facing up hill, she'd look me right in the eye, with a smile on her face, and confidence in her own ability. I was so proud that tears appeared in my eyes, and rolled down my face. (those who know me, KNOW that I aint an emo factory!)

Best part about this meant she was good enough to go on a day trip to the mountains. The real mountains. A day trip to Nakiska, with the program, and her coach.

Unfortunately I was ill on the day of the trip, but it didn't stop me going. We all loaded into the bus on Sunday morning, and headed into the mountains.

I knew she was going to freak out a little. Some of the runs at Nakiska have a similar pitch to COP, but c'mon. This is a real mountain, with real chairlifts, and real snow, and is definitely the next step up. We strapped on our boards for the first easy run of the day, just like that, she was turning, and getting used to the new terrain.

We did a couple of laps of the "Bronze" chair, a double that services the green runs of the mountain. Then, after lunch, we headed up to the top of the mountain, via the extra long "Olympic" chair. We were chasing eachother down blue runs, and even did a black without realizing it!!

Her mum took her out for the last run of the day, as I called it a day, feeling exhausted but stoked. It was a beautiful day, and I was just so proud of her for what she had accomplished.

(look at that style!!)

A few months ago I wrote a post about how this program changes lives. I know that at the time I thought I might get something out of this program myself, maybe the excitement in sharing my love of snowboarding with someone else, but I can say that looking back on the past two months, my heart opened to not only sharing my passions with someone, but having the honour of being a part of this little girls life for a season. I'm really going to miss my Friday nights with her.

(Nakiska on a glorious day)

Guest Post - "Coping with the Motherhood Job - Bianca Lacharity"

2010-02-09T12:02:00.001-07:00

I just read this amazing piece by my dear friend, Bianca. I decided to share it with you. She has written it so beautifully, that it really does need to be shared.

“Bored?” You might ask with astonishment, “How can you possibly be bored with a beautiful bouncing baby, what about all that playtime! Doesn’t she keep you busy?” Followed closely by the contradictory, “Must be nice not having to work!”. This statement comes with the expectation of a positive reply, completely discounting the fact that mothering a baby is beyond a full time job. It is true that days, hours, minutes stream by like the express bus to city centre and each second is filled with activity. However, motherhood is often an overlooked and undervalued job and like any job you can lose yourself in it.

Part of the challenge of being a stay-at-home mum comes with not having fair recognition of the work involved. There is generally no job description, performance review or salary and unless you have a very supportive stay-at-home partner there are no direct colleagues. As for an induction - it’s straight into the deep end, no job shadowing, training or feedback from management. As a mother, your infant boss drags you out of bed screaming at 1am, 3am, 5am… (that’s the baby screaming, not you necessarily – ok, sometimes you too).
Everyone has a notion of identity, what they do for a pay cheque generally governs their statement “I am a ____”. Life before baby can be very self centred, oh so me, me, me. Before long, as the clock ticks and as your face starts to show signs of decline in the mirror it then becomes I would like another-one-of-me-thank-you before it is “too late”. As pregnancy rolls around, quite literally, your identity changes to that of expectant mother, the transition role before the big event. That life changing moment that all good expectant mothers read about: childbirth.

Take heart mothers-to-be, it is all too often that we unite in learning all the intricacies of pregnancy, the baby development week by week, every formation of every limb and brain synapse. We are not alone here. We keep furiously busy, napping, eating salty crisps, heaving our good selves around in prenatal yoga and reading much literature on “What to Expect” of our expanding waistline and growing mini-me’s. We studiously learn about childbirth and decide what kind of birth we would like and some go so far as to document this in a birth plan.

At the point of childbirth, the learning generally stops. We are prepared as much as we can be, so we think, and so everyone tells us, nothing prepares you for parenthood anyway. So when that big day arrives (let’s skim over the delivery details shall we, haven’t got all day) that we arrive home with newborn babe in arms that perhaps we have never before held anything so new or precious. We step right over the Welcome to Motherhood mat and very quickly we become absorbed in the process of doing everything for the baby. With our previous pregnancy identity gone and the identity before that left long ago we wonder “Who am I now?”

The new mother, so busy chasing her tail and lovingly catering to the endless needs of baby may find that motherhood does not feel so natural after all. This is not to say that her love for her child is in direct correlation to the acceptance of her new role. The new mother can generally get on with mothering regardless, being unawares that she is indeed fulfilling her duties. Most often she just feels inadequate, like it’s never enough. There’s always another sink full of dishes, there’s guilt from not knowing how to stop the baby crying, all the while trying to be a better wife or partner. Her true self may be lost amongst the many odd socks piling up in the washing basket.

With these time consuming domestic demands and lacking a sense of her former identity, the new mum might start to judge her situation as lacking. She may start to see her day as unstimulating. Her brain requires food for thought just as much as her body needs healthy nourishing (no more crisps please I’m trying to lose the baby weight). She may deeply crave social relationships, yet with all energies focused on baby and housework she may not have a moment to meet her own needs. On occasion, she may vigorously scrub the kitchen floor in lieu of exfoliating her neglected body. Whereas once she may had read something half intellectual, or at the very least a gossip mag, her changing desire and level of concentration may lead her to seriously scan Woolworths catalogues instead.

There begins the sense of boredom, that motherhood – sometimes perceived the ‘ultimate’ of a woman’s experience, is now not enough. Before even truly understanding the value of where she is at, she may enquire, “What else is there in life?” She may take on even more activity in an effort to hold ‘boredom’ at bay. Anyone who has experienced an unstimulating office job knows how eventually googling all day can become tiresome.

What is the answer to her boredom?
Let it go, I tell her, let it all go, this idea that you have to do more, be more or even be ‘something’. Reduce your expectation. Try not to judge your circumstance or the state of the house. Just be. Roll with the days as they flow from one to the next. Enjoy your baby, govern by your instinct and build in time for yourself to do the things that make you feel good as a person. Give up the notion of boredom, there’s nothing more to do and no one else to be but exactly who you are (and don’t even try to analyze who you are, just accept it). There is no job description for motherhood because ultimately, there is no one to answer to, not even you, and remember no judgement please.

2010-01-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Im sitting at Portland International, waiting for my flight back to Calgary. It's a grey day today, drizzling, and as I stare out the window, I can almost see Mt Hood peering at me through the fog.

What a vacation! As I sit here, I can't help but feel a little grey myself, leaving my sister and her roomie behind. We had so much fun together, the three of us. I ticked off everything on my "PDX to do" list, which made it a productive time as well. And we all love being productive, right?

Bike riding, book stores, sushi houses, parks with infinite shades of green, friends, family. I can't wait for my next visit!

Looking forward to returning to Calgary, and reality. This year is going to rock!

See you soon!

Love Lauz.

Windy days in Portland

2010-01-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Portland, day 5.

God I love this city.

I've been here since Saturday, hanging out with my sister and friends new and old. And just the realization that I am here, and the subsequent happiness that surrounds that fact puts the tiniest iota of sadness in my heart. I am half way through my vacation of sorts, and don't really want to leave.

So far Rachel and I have really just hung out. We've done breakfast, gone for drinks, caught up with friends that I get to see once or twice a year thanks to my sister.

The thing I love so much about Portland is the people. Everything else is secondary, the city, the culture, the beautiful parks and endless shades of green that adorn the city with a vibrancy that makes me smile at trees and say hello to birds and dogs. Kinda like a crazy woman. But I don't care. People here aren't the judgmental type.

Yesterday I walked through Laurelhurst Park, a beautiful park full of green trees and grass, and moss growing on rose bushes. There is a pond that plays host to families of ducks and geese and swans. I could have sworn I saw a humongous Canadian Goose hanging out in the mix. Obnoxious birds they are!

Currently in reflective mode, I'm now sitting at my favourite coffee shop in Portland, Red Square Cafe with my friend Alex. He's flipping through the latest book I'm reading, called Against The Stream, by Noah Levine. The reason I picked it up was because it's front cover synopsis reads "A Buddhist manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries," and was also the reason I bought it. It talks about Buddhism, and how through the authors own application of the Dharma to his own life experiences, and offers a way for others to apply it to their own paths as well.

It talks about mindfulness, and awareness. Generosity, loving-kindness, and investigating ones own mind. Against the Stream offers a different way of thought to day to day life. Almost like a rewiring of ones brain, ones instinct, to see life and spirituality through a different shade of lens.

Now I'm not gonna get all preachy on your collective asses. But what I am taking from this book are the fundamentals being a decent person in a selfish, greed infested suffering society. I think this book is going to change my life, and the way I apply myself to my life, and also how I treat cherished family and friends and people in general.

I've been thinking a lot about something that happened back home in Calgary last week. I feel a bit strange about writing about this, but it has weighed on my mind and heart so I figure it would be at the very least therapeutic for me to get it onto paper.

Last week a lady who means everything to a lot of people in Calgary died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. She was in her thirties. I don't know her personally, hence why I find it a bit uncomfortable writing about it. A lot of my friends knew her, and loved her so.

This is what I do know. She was an amazing woman who did a lot of work with non-for-profit organizations in Calgary. She was a passionate and proud person who loved endlessly and gave graciously to her friends, family and Calgary as a whole. For some reason that I cannot explain, when I found out that she died, even though I don't know her, or had never met her, my heart felt heavy, and I couldn't escape the weighted feeling of sadness that overcame me.

There was a memorial service for her in Calgary on Sunday. People flew in from different cities in Canada, and celebrated the remarkable life she lead. One friend of mine said to me earlier this week that it was an amazing feeling, seeing everyone who knew her come together to celebrate her. Devastating circumstances, but a true show of support and love for a woman who meant so much to so many. Someone wrote on their facebook wall "If we all cared just a fraction as her, then this world would be a heck of a better place. May her legacy live on through all of us touched by her." Those words touched me. I truly hope that the lessons that she lived her life by shine through those who knew and loved her.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway.

Being in this city makes my heart skip a beat. It's almost like going on a date with a person that you have a serious crush on, and the anticipation of the date before hand makes the heart flutter with the butterflies in the stomach. Man. I definitely have a super crush on this city.

Tonight I think we're going to the Hungry Tiger, where they have $1 vegan corn dogs and $1 pints of beer. Friday I'm getting tattooed! Then on Friday night I'm going to my first NBA game (gooooo Blazers!) Should be lots of fun.

Have a great week, and I'll see you soon, Calgary.

Love Lauz.

Sittin' at the airport

2010-01-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here I am at Calgary Airport, waiting for my flight to Portland to visit my sister. I have two hours before my plane leaves, but because of the new US mandated security measures I had to be here super early.

They wouldn't let me bring my purse with my laptop in it, as it was "too big" and not an "authorized laptop bag" so I now have a plastic bag, my laptop, book, ipod, phone, passport, headphones, wallet and jacket all held in it. I didn't want to mention to the TSA folk that the plastic bag was in fact BIGGER than my purse, as I know the ludicrous procedures are not their fault. Whew, I'm certainly glad I don't have their job!

Yesterday, I met my student at our first CADS snowboarding lesson. I was NERVOUS!! But, my student is totally awesome. She's nine, and is so much fun! We had the best time getting to know eachother, even using our snowboards as toboggans on the bunny hill at COP. She already knows how to board, but was a bit nervous about finding her legs again, so we went through some of the basics, including skating (back foot out for you newbies and skiers) heel edge and toe edge "emergency brakes," and by the end of the night, we were playing a game of "copycat," where first I would slide down the hill, doing a heel edge "falling leaf" exercise, and she would just rip down behind me!

The best part of the night was when she pulled me aside and said "I had a really fun time tonight, thank you." She made me realize that we can have fun and goof around, but we can also learn and develop our skills at the same time. I'm really looking forward to seeing her again in two weeks.

My student has arthritis in her hip, knee, ankle and elbow, but it certainly doesn't stop her from kicking my ass when it came to running around COP. What was great was she was having so much fun at one point that she would automatically switch from her heel to toe edge without even noticing what she was doing. This was a great thing to observe, as it means she has the ability to link her turns, and will be up on the chairlift in no time. At one point, I made her clip her front foot into her binding, and then I ran away from her. "Come get me!" I shouted, and she just laughed and started skating as if she was born to do it. By the end of the night I had a huge grin on my face, and so did she. High fives and exclamations of "AWESOME!" and "STELLAR!" were all I could hear, as she laughed and spun around on her board.

I truly believe that this program is going to change my life. In fact, it already is. In just one lesson, my student taught me about heart, bravery and passion. I hope I can add just as much value to her life, as she will to mine.

In other news, my friend Laura and I had an epic dinner last night. I made vegan burritos with TVP and risotto rice, and home made tortillas. We also had a glass of Trapiche's 2007 Malbec. I forgot to take a photo of the label, but still have the bottle and will do so when I get back home.

Tweeps in Portland - hit me up if you're interested in catching up this week. I'm sure my sis will be sick of me being in her face after about three days, so it would be great to meet some new people while I'm in the "awesome" city.

Have a great week everyone!

Lauz xox

Happy Birthday Sis!

2009-12-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

My baby sister Rachel is turning 25 today :)

Happy birthday Rach, hope you have a wonderful day. I love you and can't wait to see you next month.

Christmas, 2009

2009-12-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends from around the world!

I am writing to you all today to send you a Happy Festivus message across the miles. Or the internet. Across the miles, VIA the internet. Oh technology. How I love thee.

Recently, I read a blog from an old friend from home. His name is Simon Smithson, and he writes for The Nervous Breakdown. You can find the link to his latest right here.

His blog got me thinking. How WAS 2009 for me anyway?

At first glance, it didn't look too promising. November 2008 was about the time the Alberta economy went belly-up and we started seeing barrels of oil get snatched up for $25 a pop. I kept telling everyone that I'd buy a barrel just to put on my deck and sell again when the demand went up. Apparently it doesn't work like that.

January was an interesting month. I remember being really busy at work, having lots to do and feeling confident that the world economy crisis wouldn't really hit Calgary. We were going to be the shining beacon of light, as the darkness set in around us. So I thought. And so, I kept working.

February - I went to visit with my sister in Portland. I remember how warm it was there - compared to Calgary - I was even able to sit on the grass outside in the sun for an afternoon! Delightful :)

March - Work got stressful. There were a few rounds of layoffs nationwide as the company battened down the hatches in light of the world economic meltdown. We were hearing stories left, right, and centre, about how the economic crisis had shut down auto plants in Ontario, and the billion dollar bailouts to save the big four in the US were coming to a head. Bank after bank in the US were shutting down. It was a scary time, and we were all feeling nervous about what was going to happen in Alberta, and Canada as a whole.

April - On April 7th, my dear friend Alex Rivera lost his battle with cancer. He was diagnosed just after I left for Argentina in 2007, and broke all of our hearts when he passed on.

May - Went on a four day road trip to Tofino, a surf town on Vancouver Island. My friend Pascal and I drove nearly 3000km to see the Pacific Ocean, and feel the sand between our toes. We saw some of the most beautiful parts of Canada, small towns like Cherryville filled our hearts with happiness! We saw Orcas swim by the ferry as we crossed over to Nanaimo, and fell in love with the beauty of the island. It was an epic journey that I'll never forget.

June - Summer arrived! So did the Zazz squad! - a very dear friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in the better part of five years descended on Calgary with friends in tow. For a week my one bedroom apartment had 6 Aussie/Kiwi bodies floating around in it, and it was great to have a taste of home in my very own living room.

July - I really really tried my best this year, to embrace and enjoy the Calgary Stampede. An annual two week drinking competition with a country and western theme, when the rodeo comes to town. Our boss took us on our traditional rodeo treat, and I was lucky enough to be invited to the "Doggy Doo Rodeo," a breakfast/party that starts at 7.30am and finishes at noon. By the 7th day (out of 10 days) I had tapped out. I don't think I'll be embracing it again next time!

August - My dear friends Bianca and Andy left Calgary with their beautiful new born daughter Lilly Mae, on the camping trip of her lifetime! It was hard to see them leave. They were family here, and it was hard adjusting to not having them just around the corner.

September - The raddest boys in Toronto came out to Calgary, and we drove to Regina, Saskatchewan to see the raddest band in Canada bid farewell at their final shows. Ghosts of Modern Man officially finished up, and we drove 8 hours to be there for it.

November - I did the biggest deal of my career in November, which felt pretty good. It was a great relief, especially considering I'd worked on it for nearly two months. The ski season started, and I began volunteering at COP.

December - Crazy as always. Im looking forward to volunteering at the Calgary drop in centre on Christmas Day, and heading out to Revelstoke to visit with friends for New Year festivities and snowboarding.

See, when I look back at this very brief snapshot of 2009, and although there were a few stresses, overall it doesn't look so bad. I've been in reflecting mode for the past week or so, just trying to remember the good, and the bad. 2009 has been a challenging year for many, and Im not exempt from that. But by comparison, I have realized just how lucky I am to be in the situation I am. I mean, I'm not exactly a millionaire, polar opposite in fact. But I have a wonderful group of friends in this city, and around the world. I have a fabulous job, that I wouldn't change for anything, no matter how frustrating days can be. Every lesson that 2009 has challenged me with has been worth it, and I am a better person for it.

So, upon reflecting on Simon's blog post, and my own year, I think I can say with a smile that although 2009 did push me beyond my comfort zone in some areas, it was a year that I needed to get through. A graduating year, perhaps. And I look forward to 2010 with confidence with the knowledge that the experiences and tools that 2009 has given me will make next year the "best year ever!"

Friends and family, colleagues, bosses, team mates, former boyfriends. Merry Christmas. I hope you are all happy, healthy, and ready to take 2010 by the horns and show it who's boss!

Love always,

Lauz.

It's the vibe of the thing - Wednesday Night Basketball

2009-12-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Last night we played our first play off game in our co-ed recreational basketball team.

We won, probably by about 12 points, but the end of the game left a sour taste in my mouth.

See, we played the formerly undefeated team in the league last night, and it was an intense game. I mean, noone wants to lose a final, thats for sure. But I think somewhere along the way, some of the people on our opposing team forgot their manners, spirit, and respect for us, and started playing dirty.

There was one guy on their team who is a fantastic basketball player. He's fast, controls the ball really well, and has a shot that rarely misses. The last time we played them, I'm sure he scored at least 20 points on his own! But last night he was an aggressive, dirty player, who seemed to be pulling tricks out of his bag to intentionally hurt us.

He was charging into clean defensive players, dropping his head and shoulder into the sternum of our best player, and then had the audacity to call a blocking foul. Our forward was hurt, and slightly winded as a result of a headbutt at a million clicks into his sternum. But it didn't stop there.

Our opponent angrily pushed past me multiple times, and magically made very aggressive contact with my right knee not once, but three times. He was elbowing my female team mates, and shoving the guys.

What had me absolutely staggered was this: one of our girls went up to him at the final stages of the game and said very quietly to him: "Excuse me, just so you know, whenever you drive past me, you are shoving me and hurting me. Can you please stop?"

A fair request from a girl who doesn't need constant pushes in the back and elbows in the chest.

His response was dispicable. "F**k you, I am not shoving you, why don't you f**k off!" as he dribbled past her!

Seriously - in a recreational league, a beer league where we all play for FUN. It is not the NBA, and even if it was, no player would be as diry and disrespectful to their opponents, lest an adult male against an adult female!

At the end of the game, we went to shake hands. I was standing behind the girl who asked the guy to stop shoving her, and when it came time to shake his hand, she declined. Maybe not the best action from her part, but he obviously offended her. His response?

"F**k you, b***h!"

Really?? Does it really have to come down to this?

I approached this "man" and said to him very politely: "Excuse me, but you don't need to be offensive. You don't need to call my team mates names, just because they asked you to stop hurting them."

This person just went crazy at this point, hurling profanities, and being really offensive. I won't get into the details, but let's just say that the Lauz inside was batting against my rib cage, screaming and wanting to hurl those same profanities back. But I held back, resisted the urge to retaliate. Instead, I wished him luck in his next game, and walked away.

There is never a need for that kind of behaviour. We don't even have referees in our games, thats how recreational it is. We are measured on "spirit points" that have a big affect on our final standings in the league. That "man" was everything our league stands against. And I can't wait to play him again next season, and beat him with our clean, fast and excellent basketball game, along with our positive attitudes and respect.

We play for FUN, not to upset others. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the moment, but remember that its our love of the game that brings us together.

CADS Calgary - Changing Lives!

2009-12-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have a new love in my life.

The Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing is a program that teaches people with disabilities how to ski and snowboard as independently as they can. And this year, I signed up to be a volunteer snowboard instructor.

One of my candidates told me about the program in the summer, and suggested that I look into it. He told me that it was through CADS that he learnt how to ski. But the greatest value he got was from helping a person with a disability realise a passion of their own, through teaching adaptive skiing techniques to accommodate their disability.

Two weekends ago I had my introduction to the program at COP. It was a great two-and-a-half days, where volunteers got exposure to each of the disability groups. We also got the chance to experience what it was like to be a student in each of the groups.

First off were the sit skis, or the "buckets" as they are affectionately known. They were terrifying! The buckets have seats that are mounted onto two skis, with two outriggers or "training skis" on the outside of the seats. They have tethers on the back, that the instructor uses to control the speed and turn the bucket.

I had the chance to sit in the bucket, and also tether. As a snowboarder, I found it a little difficult to control the bucket, as the tethers incorporate some of techniques of skiing turns: for a right hand turn, the emphasis was put on the tether in the left hand, and vice versa.

Next up was the Four Track group. This group focuses primarily on students who have little lower leg strength, for example Cerebral Palsy, or Multiple Sclerosis. Skiing students in this program are given crutches that clip on just above the elbow, that have ski tips on the bottom, and can be moved from a horizontal position (for braking and turns) to a vertical position (for pushing around, as if they were ski poles).

It is HARD to use the outriggers as a snowboarder! All the students weight has to be over their front foot, and the outriggers are used to brake and control the turning of the board. It makes the edges of the snowboard redundant, as the board must be flat in order to put the control into the outriggers. I found it a great challenge, that really opened my eyes - if I struggle, after snowboarding for twelve years, how is a brand new student going to adapt to this?

I'm beginning to think these kids are superheros in disguise.

My favourite part of the weekend was learning how to snowboard without sight.

We were paired up and told: "Now. Imagine you are blind, and you've never set foot on a snowboard. How would you teach someone how to ride?"

We were also given a set of goggles that had been covered in duct tape, so there was no way we could sneak a peak at what we were doing.

I was amazed at how much trust is needed to be a successful instructor to a blind student. Everything I did involved my partner Connor, and I found myself being frightened to let go of him when I was sliding very slowly down the bunny hill.

If it was scary for me, how would one of these kids be feeling?

The more I learn in this program, the more stoked I am to be a part of it. I love snowboarding more than anything else in the world, and I am so excited to be able to pass that passion on to someone who, in normal circumstances, might not have had the opportunity to experience it. The people at CADS really do change lives, and I am so happy to be involved in an organization that provides that opportunity.

I haven't met my student yet, but I can't wait to get out there and inject some stoke into someones life!!

I will be providing updates on the CADS program regularly.

Cheers!

Sunshine Saturday!

2009-11-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Sunshine Village with my friends MJ and Beth. First day of the season, yeah!

Picked up at 7am, we got to the hill at about 8.30, making great time. I was still feeling the effects from a jovial Friday day and night, and having to get my photo taken for my ski pass was probably not the best. Wow, do I look greasy! I'll remember that hangover until the end of April, hah.

Beth hadn't been snowboarding in about ten years, due to injuries and life getting in the way. She is from the North West Territories, and learnt how to ride being towed on the back of a skidoo in powder, so groomers were a new experience for her. We spent the morning trying to focus on the fundamentals: snowplowing and getting used to her heel and toe edges. It was quite nice actually, considering my headache, to be taking it nice and easy for the first day back.

The snow was great for the first day - soft groomers, no icy spots. It almost felt like spring snow, but fast enough to have some fun.

We spent most of the day on the Wolverine chair, doing laps. It has a constant pitch, and only a couple of flat spots, so was great for Beth to find her feet again, and also great for MJ and myself, with a few little jumps to hit, and walls on the side of the run to play around on.

By the end of the day I was toast, as was the rest of us. The sun had been out all day, and was finally starting to set, and time for us to go home.

The Weather Network says that it is going to be a relatively slow week in terms of snow, however a great week for beginners to get on the hill and old timers to find their legs again. Even after an easy day, my legs are aching, so for those out there that didn't keep up with their workouts over the summer, this week would be perfect for you to get those start-of-the-season aches and pains out of your system in time for the real pow!

Have a great Sunday

Lauz

Snowboarding Season 09-10 has begun!

2009-11-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight is my last night of "not winter" life. And the butterflies of excitement that are launching at eachother in my stomach are getting bigger and bigger.

I know I've waited longer in the past, but this summer seemed to go on for ever! My friends are getting excited too, with last minute purchases, and preparations to get riding again.

Tomorrow I register for my volunteer instructor nights at C.O.P. Almost every Friday night will be spent teaching disabled kids how to snowboard. Tomorrow night is registration, then next Friday through Sunday I'll be at COP for on hill training. Im super excited about it, and am really looking forward to teaching kids how to ride. Hopefully their experience at snowboarding will change their lives like it changed mine.

Saturday I am going to Sunshine Village for the day with my friends MJ and Beth. Just thinking about it makes me tremble with excitement. It's going to be a blast!!

I'll post photos and snow reports on Sunday.

Ride On!

Lauz.

Stuck in the 90's

2009-10-17T11:29:00.000-06:00

Last night I went to Broken City after work to have a much needed gin Caesar, and say hello to my family there. Enzo was at the bar and it was good to catch up on the week that had been, and our respective plans for the weekend. Enzo: work; Lauz: SFA. It felt good to not have many plans, outside some yoga, basketball, and a geek squad scrapbooking party.

Martin (GM of Broken City, bears a striking resemblance to a happy Nick Cave) walks behind the bar with a stack of the latest "Vice Magazine." I ordered some dinner and sat down to read the glorious rag, that, in its latest edition, is revisiting 1994.

I flicked through the articles, skimming them half-heartedly. OJ Simpson recently arrested for the murder of his wife Nicole; Aum Shinriko and his cult of crazies in Japan; What is Al-Quaeda, complete with a cartoon depicting Beavis and Butthead as Islamic extremists, trying to blow up the world trade centre. I could see what Vice were trying to do, but wasn't "feeling" it like I normally do.

Until I found the music review pages. And I nearly fell off my stool.

Best album: Pavements Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

Featured reviews include: Warren G's Regulate. Beastie Boys, Ill Communication. BioHazard, State of the World Address.

Soundgarden, SuperUnknown. Sick of it All - Scratch the Surface.

It doesn't end there. In 1994, Weezer brought out their self titled genius. Dinosaur Jr's "Without a Sound." Jeff Buckley's unforgettable "Grace". Hole, Green Day, Beck, Sonic Youth - they're all contributors to 1994's amazing musical legacy.

I always knew I was partial to mid-nineties Seattle grunge. There is something in that musical era that I haven't yet found in other musical slates in time. But Vice's music review of 1994 confirmed it for me.

I'm stuck in the 1990's.

And you know what? I'm fine with that.

I'll have another wine review up shortly. Have a great day.

Lauz.

Buddhism and Wine...

2009-09-22T20:55:00.000-06:00

Today was a rough day at work. Actually, this week has been inconvenient to say the least. Admin issues; paperwork, up to my knees. That are aching, incidentally.

So, walking home in the beautiful Calgary twilight, I decided to pull into a wine store. Because, let's face it - wine fixes everything :)

I'm making a present for a friend, a recipe book that lists wine pairings. Obviously not from that of an 'educated' wine professional, more from the 'trial and error' life student. I really hope they like it, as it will take quite the toll on my sobriety, and liver!

When I got home I threw on Zencast on the old iTunes, to see what's been downloading in my avoidance. What I found was an interesting talk on the three paths of Buddhism.

Path one: The path developmental path (utilizing our ordinary developmental experience)

Path two: The path of letting go (insecurities, contempt, bitterness, jealousy)

Path three: The path that doesn't exist (and therefore is a path anyway)

It was an interesting talk, focusing on things we can do as we travel the path to Awakening in the eye of Buddhism.

The wine I am enjoying today is from Australia. This is in fact the first non Western Australian wine I have picked up in a long time, that I have truly enjoyed.

Banrock Station, The Reserve. A 2003 vintage, Petit Verdot. To be honest, I don't know what that means. What I do know is that this wine is beautiful. Well rounded, smooth, has that velvety taste on the palate. I'm not sure if the term "ripe" is a right word to use in the wine industry, but it certainly tastes like it has matured, and should be enjoyed, not put away in a cellar.

And.... it was a STEAL! 4th Street Liquor in Mission is selling bottles for $10.99, discounted from $25. Highly recommended.

Here is the label. Go get some before they run out.

2009-08-11T18:25:00.000-06:00

Today I decided that I am going to share some aspects of my writing with the world on the internet.

When I was travelling, I wrote - a LOT. My intention was to capture the moments that made my trip so memorable. It wasn't until last weekend that I reopened one of my notebooks and flipped through its pages. And some of it amazed me - "did I really write that?!?! "

While I was away (somewhere between Argentina and Colorado I think) I read a line in Transworld Snowboarding that said:

"Snowboarding has given me..."

Underneath that line, various pro-riders had contributed pieces with the first line being that. And I thought I'd try and write something too. Here is is.

Snowboarding has given me the most ridiculous obsession,

I have ever known.

Snowboarding has given me,

Passion, heartbreak.

A true sense of friendship.

Snowboarding has given me

A greater sense of my own spirit,

My own capabilities,

My own human strength.

Friends, lovers, alcoholism(!), injuries,

A forever itchy foot.

A deep sense of longing

Like something is missing from my soul when I'm not in the mountains.

Spanish. A surrogate family.

A crew so tight yet so far away.

Everything I do is so I can ride.

I can't stop thinking about it.

It's always on my mind, I can't wipe it away.

When I stare out the window,

I see gondolas,

Chairlifts,

22 inches of fresh snow!

My friends.

I can't wait for winter to come again.

Feels good to get it off the paper :)

Wine, August 7th 2009

2009-08-08T11:09:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday!

Last night my friends Kevin and Jessica, and I watched the new Iron Maiden documentary, "Flight 666: The Film". We also enjoyed two excellent Argentinian wines last night. Both for under $12/bottle.

The first, Diego Murillo, a 2008 Malbec wine from Rio Negro, in the Patagonia region of Argentina. It cost $11.49 CAD (including tax!) so very easy on the wallet.

I'm not a sommelier, but I do know what I love. And I LOVE Malbec wine. This one has a really full and velvety taste, if that makes sense. My first taste of it instantly made me think of chocolate. A really enjoyable wine!

The second wine we had was from the Trapiche vineyards in the Mendoza province. Mendoza is north west of Rio Negro, where you can stare at the Andes looming over Mendoza city. It is a beautiful area of the world.

But the wine. The Trapiche Malbec is a favourite of mine. Coming in also at $11.49 CAD for a bottle, it is sweeter than the Diego, but very flavourful. The label says "round in the mouth with a touch of truffle and vanilla." I'm not sure I can taste the truffle, but the hint of vanilla can be detected for sure.

Delicious wine, made in a beautiful country. Enjoy!

Snowboarding and Wine

2009-08-05T14:06:00.000-06:00

Today I had a great conversation with Bradley Will, a young entrepreneur who has made a career out of helping other young entrepreneurs be successful in their chosen career paths.

I talked to him about IT Matters Canada! and what I am hoping to get out of it. Then he asked me a great question:

"What are your true passions? What do you LOVE to do?"

I answered straight away - "I love to snowboard, and I love to drink wine."

Initially I thought it was a weird question to ask, as my intention was to talk about the ITMC side of my life. He told me a story about his 'virtual mentor,' Gary Vaynerchuk a wino who found internet fame and fortune by video blogging about his passion: wine.

Brad said "How much more fun would you have every day, if you could blog about snowboarding and wine? What if by doing that alone could make you $2000 - $4000 a month?"

I had no answer for him. I mean, lets face it - I'm not exactly a pro-rider, and although I can 'enjoy' a bottle of wine in record time, I'm certainly not a qualified wino.

But. I do love snowboarding, and wine. And I really do love to write. So why can't I incorporate the two?

I found it funny that an hour long conversation with a virtual stranger could have such a profound affect on the way I think about blogging. I have much to thank him for.

Find him. He's at www.bradleywill.com and @BradleyWill on Twitter.

Judge this!

2009-04-20T15:55:00.000-06:00

I met a very intriguing person this weekend, who I was lucky enough to share some interesting conversations with over the time I spent with them.

Let me start this blog by prefacing what I am about to write with this: I have been so blessed with friends who I can share my deepest thoughts and hypothoses, crazy notions from books, my own pieces, whether they be weird poems, or jabbering nonsense straight from the heart. I am rarely suprised when I meet people on similar paths to mine, but never ever take the lessons I learn from them for granted.

So. A girlfriend of mine is going back to Australia this week, and as a result her current room mate got a new room mate to replace her. So in an exceptional state of hangover on Saturday morning, I got to meet the new room mate, whose name is Pascal. What an absolute gem he is!

The three of us hung out all day, enjoying each others company and riding bikes, and just having a great old time. The following day Jacqui had to work so the Pascal and I hung and talked and went on a bit of a mountain adventure.

I enjoy being able to talk to a person who can differentiate and articulate their thoughts, and present intriguing and controversial arguments to topics like religion, and philosophy, and life and death. From watching a squirrel grieve the loss of its companion on a lonely back road next to a lake, to questioning the existence of pure existence, from rocks and trees in the forest, to the souls of animals.

And the seemingly lack of soul in certain people around us. People who have exceptional 'envelopes' but surprisingly little content. We were in a supermarket and my new friend said to me "the problem with beautiful women is that they are soul-less." I found that quite profound. And, for a vast demographic of our society, painfully true; not only for women, but for men too.

More often than not we are judged by how we look. We are force fed a beauty matrix, provided by those in fashion consumer industries, people who tell us what criteria we need to satisfy to be labelled as 'beautiful.'

Now I'm not writing this because I have security issues - I'm far too happy with who I am to waste time on that. But I feel a sadness in my heart when I watch people judge others by their envelope, and not their content. That girl has last seasons jacket on, or that guy has eaten too many burgers. Or that person is just plain ugly.

It brings me to a question that I asked myself: How do I want to be judged? The society that we have created ensures that I will be judged, from one angle or another. And if I have to be judged, I would much prefer that the people I meet judge me for what I contribute to their lives, whether it be a smile, a hug, an intriguing conversation, or unconditional love and respect, as opposed to what kind of shoes I wear, or how I choose to brush (or not brush!) my hair.

In a personal and public profile, I want my values to outshine my lip gloss. I want my creativity to sing louder than the judgemental thoughts and fears of others. I want to be seen as an inspiration and a thought provoking and motivational support network for the people I care about, and not give a care to those who care about first impressions.

Pascal made a very interesting point yesterday: when we receive letters in the mail, we don't sit the envelope, unopened on the table and say "wow, what an amazing envelope!" we can't wait to get rid of the bland wrapping paper to see whats within its walls.

Tuesday Morning

2009-04-05T12:19:00.000-06:00

Its Tuesday morning, April 7th, a beautiful morning in Calgary. The sun is flooding my living room, and Im listening to French radio while I eat my breakfast and have a tea. Im at my kitchen table, poaching internets off the neighbour. I am hoping that karma is good to him.

I was going to write an update on what has been happening for me in Calgary, and life in general. But I have decided instead to dedicate this post to my friend Alex Rivera.

Alex, my 'faux Mexican,' is a friend I made when I returned to Calgary from Argentina. In fact, he started working at Broken City about 4 weeks after I left in 2007, so we just missed eachother in the capacity of 'work colleagues' - I met him on the patio of Broken City last year, it must have been late spring I guess.

In 2007 Alex was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. He had surgery to remove it and underwent a round of aggressive chemotherapy in the fall(ish). Things were good for a bit, he was well enough to do a trip to Manchester for the football, and El Salvador to see his "mother land."

But last year the tumour started to grow again. He described it to me as it having roots like a tree or a plant, that dug deep into his brain. It was also a very soft tissue tumour, I imagined it like silicone, maybe even softer. Alex went for a second round of brain surgery, where they removed a lot of it, but obviously couldn't get it all due to the nature of the tumour. The surgery also left him with no feeling down his entire left side.

After much discussion following his surgery, Alex decided against the second round of chemo, saying that if it wasn't going to work, he wanted to value the quality of his life, over the quantity. So profound for such a young guy. We talked about it too, while I visited him at the hospital following his surgery. He told me "I guess Im just destined for other things." Well. Who am I to tell him otherwise? Who is anyone for that matter? It was then that I knew I would eventually lose my friend.

We held a fundraiser for Alex, at Broken City in Calgary, because he wanted to travel, and see the world before he couldn't. We raised a few thousand bucks, and had a great night!

So Alex went back to El Salvador, and there he stayed for awhile, until he was too sick and they couldn't look after him. He came back to Calgary, and went into a hospice.

I visited with him last week, with my friends Brooke and Christine. It was a pretty sad moment, it seemed that he'd taken a turn for the worst, and slept for most of the afternoon. The three of us hung out in the nursing home recreation area, and made a jigsaw in the hope that he'd wake up at some point. When he did, we visited with him, but he was in so much pain. He could hardly open his eyes, and could muster barely a whisper. Its not the way for a person to be. Cancer or not. It was just heartbreaking.

I've been keeping up to date with his progress, and just hoping that his pain would cease at some point. And it did - Alex left his physical form at 11.10pm last night.

Grief is a weird process, as someone once told me, its the most selfish thing to go through as a person. But it is necessary. People grieve in different ways: some get angry, some get hysterical, and some become recluse. One of the things that I will remember of Alex is how proud he was, and how he didn't want any one to feel sorry for him, or to feel sad themselves. Its pretty hard, because as I write this, I feel nothing but a heavy sadness that he has passed, but I am also cognisant of the fact that he didn't want this of me. I also feel a great sense of relief for HIM, that he is no longer suffering, and is probably orbiting around Osiris as we speak.

I look outside today and its a beautiful day. The sun is high in a bright blue Calgary sky, there are no clouds whatsoever. Its warm enough to have the windows open, and I can't help but wonder if this was a gift from him, almost as if to say, don't worry about it, I'll be fine :)

RIP Alex my man. I really will miss you, and will continue to smile whenever you come to me in my mind and heart.

Christmas 2008

2009-04-01T20:18:00.000-06:00

G'day! Saludos! Bon Jovi! Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is doing well, and that you are all enjoying what is left of 2008. I mean - we're in December already - where did this year go?!

I know its been a long time since my last email, but due to the wonders of modern technology - be it Facebook, email, Linked In, mobile telephony - or the aviation industry - I've been lucky enough to stay in touch with the majority of you in some way or the other this year.

Lots of things have happened over 2008, and I'll do my best to recap as quickly as possible, so I don't waste too much of your time. Here is a brief outline of the major events in my life this year:

Settling into Calgary as my new home has been more of a challenge for me that I initially thought I it would be. After tramping around the States last year, all I wanted to do was stop living out of a bag, and establish quasi-roots somewhere! Coming to Calgary in January was a pretty big step for me, getting back into the business world, and back into a 'normal' lifestyle. Now I have an awesome apartment, full of junk (its amazing how quickly one acculumates stuff!) and it couldn't be more perfect. With the Calgary is a fun city, and it is home to some pretty amazing people who I am lucky enough to call my friends. You know who you are :)

Work took a bit of getting used to, as starting from scratch again is not easy in the recruitment game, especially when your business network is on the other side of the world! It's been challenging, frustrating, and sometimes plain annoying, similar to learning how to write with your left hand (for all us right handers!) - you know what you have to do, and you know what you expect from yourself, but its unlearning some of what you know to relearn it the Calgary/Canadian way. I made the biggest placement of my career, close to $30,000 which is something that I am still proud of.

As I look into 2009 with the way the world economy is bleeding profusely from its proverbial jugular, I hope that we as a group are able to weather the financial storm, and as the market begins to look up, we as a business can too.

Funnily enough, one of the biggest challenges for me this year was realising that Calgary had in fact become my home. After running around for 18 months, it felt strange to be here for more than six months and not be looking into the short term future to see where my boarding pass was going to take me next. It took the suprise visit of my mum, and showing her around the city, the people in my life, and the main reason I am here - the rocky mountains - to make me realise that this is home, and I am happy to be here. Seems a simple thing to figure out, but for me it was quite the epiphany.

July - September saw my first actual summer since the beginning of 2006. It was GREAT to be able to wear shorts OUTSIDE and enjoy some real sunshine. It made me laugh when I saw that Calgary's temparture in the summer time is almost on par with Melbourne's winter average temperature, but I was okay with it. I love the fact that sunset is sometimes as late as 10.30pm, there are so many hours in the day to enjoy the sunshine. Now I look outside my window from my desk and know that although it is clear blue skies and sunny, the temperature is probably closer to -30 degrees, a far cry from what I experienced in July.

I also got the chance to do some domestic travelling, heading west to Vancouver/Victoria for a long weekend, and east to Toronto for the Virgin Music Festival in September. Stereophonics and Bloc Party were the main reasons for heading to the two day festival, but it was also the chance to catch up with some very close friends, namely Steve, Andrea, Ben, Vergel... its always a riot when those boys are around. Foo Fighters closed on the Saturday night (Dave Grohl is the epitamy of rock and roll!) and Oasis closed the Sunday night - one Torontonian fan got on stage during their set and knocked Noel Gallagher off his feet mid song, breaking two of his ribs!! I didn't actually see it, but apparently it caused Oasis to cancel their following UK tour, as poor Noel couldn't breathe properly or something...

In October, THE JUDE CAME OVER!!! Yes - the famous Jude and my sister Shelley came to visit me over Canadian Thanksgiving, and the three of us went south to Portland OR to visit my other sister Rachel for five days. It was so great to see Mum - it had been over two years since I'd last seen her at Melbourne airport, when I was en route to New Zealand. She's so rad. And now winter is upon us, in a BIG way.

The past week has been SO cold, the warmest point being -11degrees, and the coldest around the -42 degree mark (with windchill) I have been lying low, trying to keep warm and out of harms way, at least until I acclimatise to it again! My hot water pipes FROZE in my apartment, something that I never thought was possible!

Most importantly, the ski season is also upon us! I've only been up one day so far, to Sunshine, where I got to ride with my great mate Jacqui, and a couple of bodacious Calgary dudes. Its going to be a good season, I can feel it. The knee feels good and I am stoked to get back to some fun times on the hill.

So as it comes to Christmas, and the end of 2008, I really just wanted to say to you all that I love you. Its been a pretty amazing journey for me so far, and although my ridiculously long and wordy emails have tapered off a bit, I think about you all alot.

Sometimes it will be a silly ad on TV, or a particular movie, and Im reminded of the great friends I have back in Australia, or on various ski hills and cities around the world.

Enjoy the time over the holiday season, be happy with what and who you have in your life. We are all so lucky. To quote the immortal Bill and Ted: Be excellent to eachother. And party on!

Love love love, Lauz xox

Calgary - 11 Weeks in - April 2008

2009-04-01T20:15:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone, I thought I'd write a quick "hows your father" as I've been exceptionally slack in keeping up to date with most of you.

While at work for my third consecutive Saturday, trying to keep ahead of the game (being my colleagues more than anything) I realised this morning that this is in fact the completion of my 11th week in Calgary. Three months, in one place.

A friend of mine recently pointed out that its the first real address I've had for over a year. And I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, its so rad to not be living out of a bag. I love that I have a bed to sleep in every night, and my own space to do whatever I want to/in. My dream of watching Spongebob Square pants in my underwear on a Saturday morning was realised, and it was pretty awesome. The thing that isn't so rad, is not being able to just pick up and go whenever I feel like it. No more "hmmm, Colorado sounds pretty awesome" or "I don't like it here anymore, where to next?" - its Monday to Friday (and Saturday) routine, which I was what I wanted all along - so why is it so hard to adjust?

While I was travelling through the States, waiting for my visa to come through, all I wanted was to be still for a little while. Get into work, start making money, instead of going deeper into the red; my plan was simple - work during the week, snowboard on weekends. I was prepared to spend all of my available funds/paycheque on the hill.

And then I found out that my knee probably wouldn't sustain any more excess pressure to it - after seeing a physio to get the "all clear" I found out that I had some pretty decent ligament and meniscal injuries, all sustained in Las Lenas in August last year. He told me that my riding days this season were definitely over, and that if I wanted a serious ninja career I should probably rethink that.

Then I got hit by a car on my skateboard.

So, three/four weeks after that's happened, and Im still not allowed to skate. Im not allowed to snowboard (although the snow is slowly melting away, which is okay in my book) and I was told that I really "shouldn't" learn to wakeboard this summer. But, with the right rehab and training, my surgery could be as little as a scope, to clean all the shizzle out (thats been floating around for awhile, gross!) Work has been good, challenging, frustrating and infuriating at times, but good overall. I feel like Im making a decent mark here at Sapphire Calgary.

I felt part of the furniture after day one, and have slowly but surely made my beautiful white/polkadotted Vans a day-to-day addition to my corporate attire. I guess the biggest challenge I've found in this gig so far was the fact that I have absolutely no contacts in this city. With Melbourne and Perth it was different, I was able to leverage off my network, and my great friends within the Vedior family. But here, its back to square one, and when you have to start again, its annoying. And Im super impatient, so that doesn't help there either.

But when it kicks into full gear, I'll be stoked to see it ramp up again. Calgary is a pretty cool city. I like living so close to downtown, right in the heart of things. It'll be even better come summer, I expect to have loads of Sunday BBQ's on my balcony, and throw water bombs at people walking by. Should be good times all round. (here's a photo of my house - pretty frea king sweet if you ask me)

Thats about all I have to write about I think. I hope everyone is well and loving life. Much much love,Lauz

CALGARY! See you in 72 Hours! Jan 2008

2009-04-01T20:14:00.000-06:00

I got my visa. I GOT MY VISA!!!

I'll be leaving Portland tomorrow, either on a flight direct to Kelowna, or to Vancouver. I'm renting a van and picking up all my stuff from Kamloops on the weekend, (Jude, can you let Cassie know please!) and driving to Calgary this weekend sometime.

Hopefully I'll be back in Calgary in time for karaoke at Broken City. Put the jager on ice will you?

Love love Lauzxo

Vancouver - Portland - Tahoe - Colorado - Jackson... all in three weeks!

2009-04-01T20:11:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone, and Happy New Year to you all!

I hope this email finds you all well and happy. For the most part, I am well and happy. And stuck. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

My visa application is still in process, and as a result I am unable to start work. I am due to start work with Sapphire Canada tomorrow, but cause I dont have authorization to work yet, obviously I can't, so I've been on a whirlwind tour of North West America since December.

The trip started in Portland, Oregon, where I visited with my sister Rachel for her birthday. It was loads of fun, and I got to meet her great friends who have been keeping her in Portland for so long! What a great group of people she has around her. Its easy to see why she doesn't want to leave. Portland is an awesome city, albeit a little on the quiet side. It was also on the rainy side, however not as bad as Vancouver!

I found a ride to Tahoe from Portland, with a lovely guy called Justin, who was heading to Nevada for Christmas. I was looking forward to seeing Goso and experiencing some Tahoe mountains. We made it in 14 hours, after a rather gruelling drive - distance more than conditions, and poor Goso was waiting up at 2am for my arrival. We rode Heavenly ski resort in South Lake Tahoe, which was fun, however they hadn't had much snow and it was a day for blue groomers - all the good stuff was closed due to a lack of coverage - which was unfortunate! We still had fun though, on a bluebird day on the hill.

Christmas in Tahoe was fun. Being in a house full of Argentinians, we celebrated Christmas Eve in style. The supermarket closed early, so I made us a Christmas Eve dinner with ingredients I found at the local liquor store! It was fun, and we headed to the Nevada side for some casino fun, all the while screaming "Feliz Navidad!!!" to whoever would listen. It was quite fun! I met some great people and had a wonderful time in Tahoe. Unfortunately it didn't snow once while I was there, and I really couldn't afford to ski days where there just wasn't any powder!! So I spent a lot of time planning my next move to Jackson Hole.

Initially I had a ride to Jackson that would have seen me here in time for New Years. Unfortunately it fell through the day before I was due to leave Tahoe. I did however score a ride to Colorado with a skier called Jesse, who was returning home to Boulder for NYE. It was another 14 hour drive in horrible road conditions, including a stop just outside of Vail to buy chains (fitted by a Mexican COWBOY!!!) and very slowly make it over a mountain pass, where trucks were crashing into median strips, and cars were flipping due to the windy snowy conditions. We made it to Frisco, CO only to have the highways close down for a good 24 hours!! Eventually we got to the lovely Colorado Dan's place and there we stayed for a good day! Jesse was trapped in Dillon, because the highway closures meant he could not get to Boulder that night. So we hung out, and then the next day we went to A-Basin to ride in -30 degree cold cold cold temperatures! Thats Celsius too! Dan nearly got frostbite on his face, and I rode with this lovely lady called Caitlin, Dans room mates girlfriend. After about 3 hours in the absolute cold, we decided to call it a day!

New Years Eve was a quiet event, where I sat at the bar of Dan's work (an awesome micro brewery in Dillon) and poked fun at this southern guy who was just a creep. It was fun, and quiet, and it was just what I needed! I was in bed by 12.30 and woke up without a hangover! It was also a New Year without resolutions!

I was able to score a ride to Jackson with a lovely couple who were moving from Denver to Seattle. An 8 hour drive normally, took us closer to twelve due to horrible icy and windy conditions driving through Wyoming. A gust of wind nearly flipped the car on this one stretch of road about three times!! It was pretty hairy thats for sure.

I made it to Jackson, and to the boys. It was so exciting to see them all! Three of the boys from Las Lenas, (Joe, Evan and Russel) are living and working here, and have been kind enough to let me couch surf this past week, Jackson has NOT STOPPED SNOWING for nearly a week, and the local resort has received over 60 inches of snow. I got to ride two days, the first one was just fresh lines all day!!! The second day I got to ride, was absolutely amazing. I got stuck in one pocket of powder, where the snow came up to my chest!!! It was so rad, and Im very lucky I didn't fall down, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get out!!

So here I am. Sitting on the couch with a beer and watching Van Helsing with a room full of people. macking out on sofas and recliner chairs. And I continue to check my emails, to see if my visa's come through, and am planning a way to get back to Canada. Im not sure if I am going to fly or get a ride through Montana and then up into Canada. But either way, I am very excited to get back to Calgary and resume a normal healthy lifestyle! I can't wait to sit in my own place, with my own couch, and my own bed. I really can't wait! In almost a month, I've been through six US states, and covered well over a thousand miles by road. I've visited some people I really care about, people who I didn't think I'd get to see again for a long time.

Okay, thats about it for now. I hope you're all well, and enjoying your summer/winter/respective places of current positioning!

Take care everyone, much love out there.
Lauz. xox

Happy Christmas 2007

2009-04-01T20:08:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,
So the past few weeks in Canada have been pretty crazy to say the least. I've bumped my way through British Columbia and Alberta, only to bump my way back again, in preparation for my border flee next week. I was lucky enough to meet up with some good friends, and catch up on some lost time. I went riding at Sunpeaks with my good friend Nate which was fun. I stayed in Kamloops for about a week, enjoying Nates family as if they were my own. It felt really good to be a part of a family again, and I really enjoyed sleeping in my own bed, and took full advantage of the massive bath tub!!!,

Nate was planning on driving me to Kelowna, so I could catch a flight (courtesy of a wonderful WestJetter that got me to Calgary on a buddy pass - thanks Ms Turner!!!) from Kelowna to Calgary, so I could go to my meeting with the Sapphire crew. We set out in a snow storm of average proportions, when we got caught at a road block at a scary strip town called Falkland. (Exactly between Kamloops and Kelowna) It was then that Nate realised that his INSURANCE had EXPIRED and we were pretty much up the creek without the shovel. Or gloves.

So. After much attempted schmoozing with the female officer of law, we were informed that we could no longer drive the car, and that it was getting towed back to Mobie Creek, 40 odd kilometres back towards Kamloops. I had my boardbag and a backpack, and we were forced to pull everything out of the car, and start walking - in the snowstorm - until we hit a motel for the night. Lucky for us, the motel was less than two mintues walk from where we got pulled over. Not so lucky for us, it was like something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre - really old and rickety place, a scary owner/night auditor with scary dogs and an old scary smell to the place. I had a hard time sleeping because i was CONVINCED there was a man with a chainsaw/meat cleaver/butcher hooks just outside my window, crunching around in the snow. By about 5am I gave up on sleep and watched FOUR HOURS OF CSI MIAMI (the highlight of my night!) while waiting to make our next move.

Nate was able to contact his friend Tim from Kelowna, who I am pretty sure is an angel on earth. He picked us up, took us to Vernon, where Nate was supposed to get insurance but couldn't cause he didnt get his papers out of the car; so Tim drove us to his car at the tow place, then back to Kamloops so he could get insurance, and then dropped him off at his car, and took me to Kelowna Airport. Holy. It was certainly one heck of a mission! I made my flight to Calgary with 40 minutes to spare, and the second i was seated I fell into a deep sleep before the plane even took off. Crazy crazy times.

While I was in Calgary, I signed a job offer with Sapphire Technologies Canada, which will see me back in reality, back in the recruiting game. Im really looking forward to it, and am excited to settle in Calgary for the next while. Its a great opportunity, doing what I love to do for a crust, and with a company I've enjoyed working for back home in Australia. Im due to start on the 14th January, visa pending of course. Its gonna be rad to have some money coming in again, and I can't wait to stop living out of a blo ody bag! The team is outrageous, and Im really looking forward to working with them all. They remind me a lot of the Melbourne team, so its exciting to have that to come "home" to when this last travel stint is done and dusted. I also got to catch up with my godmother and her family, aunties and grandma of course. It was great to see them all, I was able to see my old Broken City family a few times, and my lovely friend Beau who I was just stoked to be hanging out with again.

Im going to get a house, a parrot, a dog and a cat. And maybe a TV. I want to call the parrot Arnold, and have him come with me to the pub in summer time, kinda like Rocky who hangs out on the Venice boardwalk with his owner. Im now in Vancouver, and am here for another two days before heading to Portland Oregon to see my sister Rachel for her BIRTHDAY and (hypothetically) the lost love of my life, Chris who flies in same day as me.

Then Im going to try and make it to Tahoe for Christmas to go skiing with Goso, and maybe spend NYE too if Im lucky. From Tahoe Im going to try and hitch over to Jackson to see some friends and wait out for my visa. To work. In Canada. Again.

So to my lovely friends who are often wondering where the heck I am, from January 2008, I'll be in Calgary to stay for a very long while. You're most welcome to come visit! Calgary is perfect for the snow bums, as its an hour from Sunshine and 3 hours from Fernie, not to mention all the other hills within a stones throw.

For those who I won't be seeing at the holiday season, I hope you all have a wonderful break, filled with family, food and lots of booze. You Australia kids, enjoy the Boxing Day test in my absence, Happy Festivus! Love love, Lauz xoxo

Hooray for Canada! Post November 2007

2009-04-01T20:05:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, Well I thought I'd let you all know of my adventures of the past week or so. Its been interesting, with car rides, immigration issues, fresh pow day at Whistler, and reuniting with some very old friends. Kinda cool and exhausting all at the same time.

I made it to Canada in a car with three absolute strangers and a 24 hour straight car ride, my first challenge was convincing the Canadian customs officials to give me a 6 month tourist visa so I could hang out until my working holiday visa was renewed and I could start working again. Legitimately. But I failed at that, as the guys at the border were not convinced that even though I'd been out of the country for 5ish months, that I was trying to pull a dodgy, and stamped me in (after much convincing from my part) until Xmas eve. Which is NOT ideal. The lady at immigration also told me that after I leave Canada, she expects me to go home "and establish yourself in your own country" in very nice Canadian diplomacy. She was very polite. But Im staying here lady!!!

So what Im going to have to do is get a cash job to see me out till mid December, then cross the boder. I want to go south to Portland, through Seattle (and Baker - they got 40cm last night!!!) and see my sister Rachel for her birthday on the 21st. Then the plan is to try and make it to Tahoe for Christmas, then bum around until my Canadian visa gets renewed. Last time it only took 4 days for it to come through, so Im hoping for the same kind of efficiency from the Consulate General in Sydney so I can finally get my life sorted and end this gypsy lifestyle! I can't wait to sleep in MY OWN HOUSE but really don't know when thats going to happen.

Anyway, I made it to my friend Joe's house in Burnaby, aboutn 15 mintues from downtown Vancouver. He has a lovely house and its great to be sleeping in a bed again, thats for sure! He works for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee, and is pretty much flat chat with the release of mascots and updating of websites etc. Which has given me a great opportunity to catch up with friends I haven't seen since Fernie, and New Zealand!

My friend Simon, who I travelled up the west coast of the South Island of NZ is living here too, and we caught up after not seeing eachother for four or so years! It was great to see him again. I also went on a mega mission to Whistler on Monday night, after hearing that it was going to get a 10inch snowfall overnight. My friend Mike and I missioned up in this old as sed car, through snowstorms and dodgy road constructions to get to the hill at around midnight on Monday. We didn't have enough money for a place to stay so we slept in the car in the parking lot for blackcomb. It was cold and uncomfortable, but when we woke up the next morning, seeing the snow EVERYWHERE made everything totally worth it. We got some fresh lines through one of the bowls on Whistler, which was amazing. In some spots the chow was up around mid thigh so it was hard work and pretty heavy but it was sooooooooo much fun!

The knee held up beautifully, albeit a little sore at the end of the day. Blackcomb seems to be steeper, and I had a lot more fun around there, without getting caught on as many flats as I did on Whistler. But half a day to work out two mountains isn't really enough - I htink you could spend a season there and still not see everything. We survived the day on the power of 7/11 coffee and chicken and montery jack toquitos. It was a wonderful experience.

Well I think thats if for now. Its all a bit hectic at the moment, but Im sure in the New Year when things are sorted I'll be able to begin life again as a normal person. Whatever that means! Hope everyone is well and happy and NOT HAVING ANYMORE BABIES!!!

Love love, Lauz

LA Update, November 2007

2009-04-01T20:02:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, Hope you're all fine and well, and happy and hot/cold/whichever one you prefer at this time of year. Things for me in LA are weird.

In the past 4ish weeks, I've been technically evicted, homeless, couch surfing, unemployed,HIT BY TWO CARS ON DIFFERENT DAYS!!! two jobs, injured and surprisingly, sober. I've quit smoking, stopped eating meat, limited my alcohol intake to one drink a night, and have experienced more dramas in the past week than i know what to do with. Apparently this is "character building." Well I think my character is unique enough, and I WANT OUT!!! I've decided that LA is not for me.

And Im very happy with that decision. My sister Shelley arrived and she's ready to go back to Australia. Long story there, but hopefully I"ll be able to convince leave LA with me! I read an article today that LA is supposed to be the se xiest city in the world, but all I see are ugly people with tunnel vision. The city itself is polluted and congested, and the only cool thing about it is the west side, Santa Monica and Venice. The rest is just not worth the time.

Im well on the way to getting a van, something Im really stoked about. I found a SICK 1978 VW combi camper in Portland Oregon, and its only $600! So I think after a couple of more weeks here, working and saving, and not drinking, I'll be able to make my way north, without looking back.

My other sister Rachel lives in Portland too, so it'd be so rad to hang out with her for a bit en route to wherever I end up. I know its only a short email. (thank god you all say) but my time is about up so I better vamos. Much love to you all, and can't wait to hear your stories.

Love Lauz xox

Apparently California knows how to party! Post, October 2007

2009-04-01T20:01:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone,

So this is my third week into life in LA, and its more of a cultural shock than Argentina was. I can't say for sure that I've "settled" but am starting to enjoy life in this mega city.I think. Actually, Im not sure yet.

My first couple of weeks have been FREAKING HOT to say the least. Temperatures going up into the 90's (not sure what that is in celcuis, all I know is that I have to wear shorts and show the world my snow tan) and fires in LA burning all the rich people to hel l. I've been lucky enough to bunk in with my sisters old room mate Yana, who is AWESOME, and her boyfriend Luis. I have a bedroom to myself and a pet chinchilla called Sasha, who is crazy. We let him out at night time and he jumps on me when Im asleep.

Work for me is at a shop on the boardwalk, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Im about a 5 second walk to Muscle Beach, and get to watch all the freaks and bums try to make a buck on a daily basis. There's this one guy, his name is Paul I think, and he wears novelty beer goggles, a beer top hat and has a sandwich board sign saying "Worlds Greatest Wine-o" and walks around singing "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, help me get drunk." Although he does pretty well from what I hear, I am pretty sure that after my stay in Las Lenas, that he is absolutely NOT the greatest wine-o the world has ever seen, but merely a guy with a tolerable liver.Hmmm.

I actually found out today that I've scored a second job - with tips - woohoo! Its at a bloody AUSTRALIAN RESTAURANT called Bondi BBQ. Who would have thought! They sell meat pies, and prawns and burgers with pineapple and beetroot - Im so excited!!! I start on Thursday which will be very interesting!

So as much as I am happyish to be here, Im really looking forward to making some cash to get me back to the cold. The people I've met so far are lovely, and I think I've developed another crush on some poor unsuspecting guy who is LOVELY... but I keep dreaming of Fernie, and can't wait to get back there.

So I hope you're all well and happy. Alex and Di, congrats on the birth of bub!!!
Much love darls!
Lauz

Las Lenas Part 2

2008-01-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

ola Everyone!

I just thought I'd give you all an update on Lauzzies life as a ski bum in the heart of the Andes.

This past week has had its many ups and downs – well, in comparison to the regular life of working full time and having "responsibilities" this may seem pretty tame, but personally I think its all relative.

I guess the biggest news for me right now is that Im out of the game - I dislocated my left knee two days ago, and although its not as bad as I initially thought, Im pretty sure my season is well and truly jeopardised.

Ed and I went out the back of our apartment to this cornice that the boys had been jibbing off a few days prior. It wasnt that high but it was on quite a steep angle) but the way I landed saw my left kneecap come straight out. I thought it was all over, until Ed got my board off for me, and I turned around, and it went straight back into place again with no need to bang it or hit it. So I guess thats good news. The tough part was that we had to cross a river, climb up a muddy bank, cross a bridge, and climb up a snow boot pack to get back to the apartment. Needless to say, my left knee is now all bruised and swollen, but it feels REALLY good, and Im hoping that once the swelling goes down, I'll be able to hit the gym and just work the bejesus out of it so I can get back on the hill. The good thing about living with these guys is that there are knee braces galore, and my buddy Joe (you'll read all about him in a sec) was able to provide me with some excellent limb support. I guess the main thing out of this is Mum, don't worry, I am fine :)

Lori had his 25^th birthday on Sunday – we had a very lovely dinner for him at one of the restaurants in the valley. Im pretty sure I had the most amazing steak of my life, and our table of 20ish (all gringos) demolished about the same amount in red wine, making the beginning of a very rowdy night. Lori passed out on the bus home, and Ed was nursing a two day hangover of gigantic proportions (I haven't seen anything quite like the pain he suffered!!) This is the second consecutive birthday celebration I've shared with Lori, and I told him that in no way was I going to attend a third, as Im pretty sure it will see me hospitalized for liver failure.

We had two AWESOME powder days last week. It's the best I've seen so far on this trip, with the first of the two being so much fun – Ed and I went out when everyone else stayed in bed – and I learnt how to do 180's and not fall down! It was the perfect learning day, as the snow was soft and it wasn't scary to fall down the mountain face first.

My new friend Joe (English guy, lives in the apartment next to us) came into a bit of trouble on Wednesday night, when he ruffled the feathers of the big cheese of Las Lenas – he was escorted home by security, and the next morning was woken by the big cheese telling him he had 24 hours to get the heck off the mountain otherwise he'll be escorted by the police!!! Naturally he's been FREAKING OUT for the past couple of days – he was supposed to leave today, however went to apologise to this guy today, and he's got a meeting tomorrow with the Las Lenas corporate board of directors to plead his case to stay for the rest of the season. Its looking pretty good, with many locals of certain importance supporting him by providing references and talking to the big cheese themselves. Fingers crossed he can stay with us for the remainder of the season, because I can guarantee that if he leaves it will leave us all with a bad taste in our mouths. I'll keep you posted on that front.

We were supposed to go on a hike on THursday, but with Joey's dramas, and also the Marte chairlift closed, we were pretty much restricted to the piste. It's a bit frustrating when you're all kitted out with tranceivers and heavy backcountry packs only to go home again on a groomed run!! We initially heard that Joey's "appeal" was unsuccessful, so we all headed home to see him off and have a last drink with him, but when we heard that he wasn't leaving we were all stoked, so it was back to the mountain to practice jumping and have some fun in the sun. It was actually so warm today I sat outside for an hour or so in shorts and a tank top, reading a book ironically about global warming. The snow conditions here are what you'd expect for spring time, but smack bang in the middle of winter, with very

warm conditions, it's a little worrisome. If you could all do a little snowdance for me, I'd be very happy. Apparently the biggest snowfall is expected in August/September-ish, but we need more of the white stuff NOW!

Apart from the "dramas" of late, things here are great. Just so you know, it costs 20 pesos for a 4.7 LITRE bottle of red wine (about $8 CAD or $10 AUD) and about 3 pesos for a packet of cigarettes. We're living like absolute povo's and Im loving almost every minute of it. With 4 guys and myself with exceptionally healthy appetites, food doesn't go a long way either, and after doing a McMassive shop two days ago to the value of 150 pesos, the cupboard today was looking barer than I've ever seen it. It sure makes me laugh.

My toque/beanie making business has been going great guns – and the proceeds are contributing to our collective alcoholism, which is always/never a good thing.

Anyway, this is me signing off. I love you all very much, and seeing as though I won't be riding, hope to hear from you over the next few days.

Much love amigos

Lauz

See ya Las Lenas!

2008-01-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope this email finds you all well and happy. A big congratulations to Beyonce for the arrival of bub, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Vergel, Steve, Emma, Brady and Tami, and any other September baby I may have missed out on :)

Things in Las Lenas are wrapping up quickly. Im leaving the valley for good on Friday, where I head to Mendoza, and possibly Santiago Chile, for a day or so. Then its back to Buenos Aires next Tuesday for a couple of days with mates, before flying back to the States next Friday! Its amazing how quickly the time has gone by.

I went to Bariloche last week with Greg, Edd, Lorri and Joey, which apart from the 20 hour transit time (EACH WAY!) was lovely. Bariloche is NOTHING like Las Lenas; it has a very European feel to it, and there are tree runs on the hill, Cerro Cathedral! The first day we rode was horrible, all icy and hard packed, and my knee was playing up a bit in the hard conditions. We did a lot of walking around town, and some sightseeing - Bariloche is built on a beautiful lake, and we were treated to awesome views of the surrounding mountains and islands in the lake.

For a town that is sooooo much bigger than Las Lenas, Bariloche was very cheap in comparison. I picked up an awesome hoody for 27 pesos (thats about 9 dollars CAD) and we ate out pretty much every night!! We were lucky enough to be hooked up with accomodation in our friends business house (South America Snow Sessions, a camp run by a bunch of excellent skiers and snowboarders, for young kids who want to learn how to go large) for next to nothing a night. It was great to be in a house WITH A COUCH again, and I took advantage of that, passing out on that thing a couple of times I think.

The last day we rode Cerro Cathedral was awesome, albeit getting separated from Greg and Lorri. Joe and I rode around for the day, and got some fresh lines thanks to some new snow from the night before. I took an AMAZING fall which I thought I'd never recover from, as I dropped the nose of my board in the snow and cartwheeled a few times, then started sliding on this icy patch - I thought it was all over but was able to recover and ride out the last of the steep and to meet with Joe. The best part about that was my knee didn't hurt at all, and it was the kind of stack that gave me a little bit of my confidence back. Its a good feeling, knowing that I can fall and my kneecap is going to stay where it belongs.

We hiked for about 30 minutes to get lines through a chute that is normally accessible by a lift, but due to the "high winds" it was closed. Joe and I got some sick pow in there, and we were just stoked on it. (Both Joe and myself have experienced some gnarly injuries this season, and it was the first time we both were able to ride fresh lines after coming back from respective injuries. STOKE-A-RAMA!)

And with that, our trip was over. Another 20 hours in transit back to Las Lenas, and the following day we all decided to have a "Gaper Day" where all the boys dressed up in my metal tshirts and went out to get radical. I wore my Aussie flag as a cape and a skirt, which DOES NOT go down well on a poma!! The boys got some pretty funny footage in the snow park, doing boxes in their ridiculous get up. Im pretty sure Greg took the fashion awards that day, beautifully dressed in a Megadeth tshirt and tightish black jeans! The snow has pretty much melted away to nearly nothing, with workers moving snow by truck to various parts of the hill. Its kinda funny to watch. I've packed up most of my stuff, including my board and gear, and our house is slowly emptying out.

So thats pretty much it. As usual, its sad to say "see ya later" to old and new friends, and this isn't going to be any easier. Its hard, cause I don't know when Im going to see Greg and the boys again, with Greg heading to Andorra this coming northern season, and he's probably not going to come to Canada anytime soon, so it makes me sad to think that its going to be ages before we catch up again. But thats travelling I guess. The boys next door however, are doing the season in Jackson Hole, so with a little bit of luck I might be able to go visit them for some more snow fun.

My next email will probably be from LA, so until then, take care out there Australia.

Lots of love,

Lauz

Las Lenas Again

2008-01-02T19:22:00.001-07:00

>Buenos Noches everyone,
>
>I hope this email finds you all well and happy.
>
>Things here in Las Lenas are starting to wrap up. We've said goodbye to a
>number of new friends in the "familia Gringo," and its never an easy thing
>to do thats for sure. Not only that, but its warming up here beyond belief,
>and it makes it hard to stay motivated when theres no decent snow to ride.
>
>I went for an unexpected hike two days ago with one of my buddies. We
>wanted to check out the "Sans Nom" cornice on the south side of the
>mountain, which was a SPECTACULAR view, but as we hadn't been around that
>part of the mountain for a long time, we didn't realise that most of the
>snow had melted off the basin, and had a loooooooong hike out to snow for
>us
>to ride back to the base on. It wasn't too hard, but it was the first bit
>of
>serious exercise I have put my knee through since I dislocated it, and
>needless to say, I've been a bit sore since. But its good news, and I'm
>confident that I'll be at full capacity by the time I get back to North
>America.
>
>There's been talk of us heading south to Patagonia on Monday for a week,
>riding at Bariloche, and also hopefully checking out the icefields a bit
>further south. I feel like Im in a bit of a pickle though, because if I
>head
>south, then I won't have time to check out the Iguazu Falls on the
>Argintinian/Brazillian border, or spend any time in Buenos Aires with my
>new
>friends before I take off. Also, the temperature has dropped significantly
>in the past 24 hours, and I have a feeling it might just PUKE on us over
>the
>next couple of days. Hopefully Im right, and we'll be riding some
>sweeeeeeeeet pow anytime now, and I won't have to worry about these silly
>choices!
>
>So I'll be arriving in LA on the 6th October in the afternoon (after a
>12ish
>hour layover in Miami, where my mission is to try and find David Carusso
>and
>get a photo of me with Horatio), and from there Im not really sure what's
>happening. But I'll keep you posted with my travels and ETA back in Canada.
>Hopefully should things go to plan, I'll be able to pass through Fernie
>before heading back to Calgary, so I look forward to seeing you all again!
>
>Anyway, this laptop is about to kark it, so I'd best be off. I'll write
>more
>when I have more to tell!!
>
>Much love,
>Lauz

Las Lenas - Mendoza - dislocated knee

2008-01-02T19:16:00.002-07:00

Hi amigos,

Its been an interesting couple of days for me here on the other side of the world.

First of all, after a few intense days of flu/injury/cabin fever, I hitched a ride with a few friends to Mendoza to see off our buddy Leigh who was heading back home to the States. Mendoza is a beautiful city, and we´ve been lucky enough to hang out in a rad hostel, shown the sites by some lovely Mendozian locals, and of course have a few drinks here and there.

Its been the first real chance for me to see outside the Las Lenas bubble we´re all trapped in (not that its a bad bubble, but still a bubble all the same. I wonder how many times I can say bubble in a bracket without hurting peoples eyes... bubble, bubble, bubble...) and I was quite excited to take off with Olle, Petter, Simon and Leigh, although slightly nervous about it at the same time. These guys can DRINK ME UNDER THE TABLE. There. I said it.

We were lucky enough to get a ride into Mendoza with this AWESOME guy Alfred, who is a good friend of Simon and Petters, and lives in the city. He owns the truck of my dreams, so it was quite exciting for me!

The first thing I really noticed about Mendoza is the massive amount of stray dogs running around. Its not just Mendoza, but Argentina as a whole, and it breaks my heart to see it. Theres one stray that we named Frichoff or something, after the explorer who was the first to hit the north pole (i think!) - and he is just beautiful. Its going to be hard to say goodbye to him.

Another thing I´ve noticed on this trip, moreso than at Las Lenas, is the complete lack of personal hygiene!!! Every baño I´ve been in cafes and restaurants, and even bars...never has toilet paper, doesn´t flush, is missing a seat, or just backed up. I have gone through a bottle of hand sanitizer, and now keep kleenex in every pocket I can! Its weird, and Im so surprised that it doesn´t bother people here! Blegh!

Petter had a really scary incident last night, where he was robbed at knifepoint by a gang of dodgy Argentines. I was safe in bed (and sober) when it happened, just so you know mum. These guys made him go to a bank machine and take out as much money as he could before taking off. They ended up getting 900 pesos out of him, which is horrible, but lucky his card had a limit on it and wouldn´t allow him to take out more. Sad thing is, theres nothing he can do about it. Filing a police report isn´t going to help, and the lady at our hostel said that its a common occurance, which is scary and sad a the same time. So yeah. No going out alone here for me!

We´ve booked our bus tickets back to LL for tomorrow morning at 1am, so will be home in time for breakfast I guess. Good times. We´re also going to have a zombie party for my brithday next week, which will either see us all getting kicked out of the resort, or a ridiculous night out. Or both. Should be good times!

Ok, thats all I got for now, will write again when something rad happens, like snowboarding again!!

>Much love you guys, hope to hear from you soon.

Lauz

Las Lenas Part 1

2008-01-02T19:16:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well, I finally made it to Las Lenas! After an epic 41 hour journey from Calgary to the ski hill here, I feel like I have washed off most of my transit lag, and have nicked a laptop from the boys in an attempt to make contact with the outside world. Its kinda funny saying that, as this place is so remote and isolated from everything - its pretty overwhelming to say the least.

The first part of my trip was a day and a half in Venice Beach CA, to enjoy some sun and heat before heading south. It was a pretty awesome affair, which included me falling asleep on the beach and getting BURNT! I had a goggle tan before I'd even left North America. It was good to catch up with some of my sisters mates, and met some cool people in my hostel before heading back to LAX to start the trip to Buenos Aires. (I believe the main events in Venice included burritos, jager and a burlesque show, not in that particular order.)

I flew out to NY on the Monday, and made a fatal mistake in thinking that Newark, NJ and Kennedy Airport, NY were close to eachother - I don't think so pal! My flight was delayed by a few hours due to bad weather on the east coast, and I only just made the transfer in time to check my 100lbs of luggage into JFK and catch my flight to BA.

The flight wasn't too bad - I had a WHOLE ROW to myself - thats right - three seats for one person - and I slept pretty much the whole way to Buenos Aires. I was pretty nervous getting on board this flight, being greeted by the flight attendant speaking to me in Spanish and the like... I really underestimated this trip, and realised then how unprepared I was for it. After waking up just in time for breakfast, I made a toque and waited for the plane to land. When arriving in BA, I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed. It was like a whole new world, and although I was able to ask questions and lamely get myself onto a bus to the downtown bus depot, it was very difficult understanding the responses!!!

I waited for 8 hours in the Buenos AIres Retiro bus depot, for my bus to take me to San Rafael - in that time I was scammed out of precious pesos by dodgy characters, worked out how to say "can I have a plate of fries" in Spanish, and was nearly robbed of everything important that I owned. It was a terrible experience, that bus depot, and even though I like to think that Im tough enough to look after myself, in a country where you can't speak the language, or understand bus timetables, or ANYTHING - and also being an obvious gringo girl on her own - I was quite anxious and was very worried for my safety, until I was safely on the bus out of there!!!

While on the bus to San Rafael I met a 13 year old girl called Lena, from Buenos Aires - who spoke perfect English! She and I chatted about her favourite celebrity crushes, (Hers was Ashton Kutcher. She didn't like Brad Pitt because he's too old.) and told me about growing up in Buenos Aires, and how she wants to be a journalist when she grows up. I gave her my email, and told her that when she's a famous investigatory journalist working in her NYC office, that she is to remember me and write me an email sometime.

So there really wasn't much to do on the bus but sleep, and thats what I did. When Lena got off the bus at San Luis, I knew I only had approximately 8 hours left of my trip to see Greg and the boys. When I FINALLY arrived here at Las Lenas, it was more of a relief than anything else. I met up with my new house-mate Ed, and literally took a shower and then fell asleep for a few hours. I've been groggy for a few days, and now feel like Im almost human again.

Its so rad seeing Greg and Lori again. Also meeting Ed and Henry, the other two boys, we make a good little family. They're all such lovely boys that I think Im going to be quite happy here as Mother Duck. We're all living in VERY close proximity of eachother, and I was worried that we'd get on eachothers nerves, but up until now, its been pretty good. The apartment is TINY - and with all our gear and the like, we are in each others faces alot, so I think we have a really good group of people.

We are part of about 20 "gringos" here in Las Lenas, and Im one of two girls in that group. Its a little on the strange side, and Im hoping that we get another couple of girls on our team soon, because (I can't believe Im going to say this!) there are probably a few too many guys around. We need a bit more balance!!!

The altitude here is SO HIGH. I get puffed out walking to the bus stop, and yesterday, my 3rd day on the hill, was also my first backcountry experience. We did a hike up to what is called the "Necklace" a series of chutes that work into a coilour and then back into the ski boundaries. With a combination of me being physically unprepared to hike, and not fully aclimatised to the altitude, I felt like my lungs were going to explode out of my chest!! Hopefully that will lessen the more hikes I do, but I tell you what, it was NOT a fun experience. Its partly the reason why Im not up there today - very sore and very tired still from that walk. The embarrassing thing is, the boys told me after that it was probably the easiest part of the mountain to hike to! I tell you what though - the line was soooooooooooooo worth the hike - it wasn't massive, but a steep, deep pow line that just made me so stoked to look back and go "HOLY CRAP, thats MY line!"

Anyway, sorry about the long email. I really just wanted to connect with you all and let you know I made it okay and am still alive. Its hard to get internet access, and phone access here too, but I will write again when I get the chance.

I hope you're all great out there in your respective parts of the world. Its funny, when I talk to the boys (remember I haven't seen them for over a year!) I hear myself talking about Fernie and Calgary with a smile on my face. I can't wait to see you all again!

Much love amigos

Lauz xoxox

Bye Canada - July 07

2008-01-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

So Im pretty sure this is going to be my last Canadian email - for the next few months anyway. I fly out to LA in 1and a bit days, and am really looking forward to a couple of days on Venice beach before heading south to the cold and snow and total gnar of Las Lenas. (See that Dienpoof, you can use bodacious words in sentences!! haha.)

As you will not be surprised, I haven't done ANYTHING to prepare for my trip. I still have to:

Buy travellers cheques

Find my credit card

Un max said credit card

Buy insurance

Buy my flight to LA

Pack

Hope to god that I have remembered everything.

I think its awesome, because before I left Australia I was meticulous about planning my trip - I had everything covered, and had researched pretty much the whole of BC and Canada before even leaving Perth! These days, I think Im getting a bit too laid back.

Now The Jude, its okay, I plan to have all these things covered by close of business tomorrow, especially my insurance - I hope. The only things I have really done this week is pack up the stuff I don't need and send them to my mates place in BC (thanks The "other" Jude!)

Calgary has been amazing to me over the past little while. I've made some wonderful friendships, and am going to miss certain people dearly. But to be completely honest, Im happy to see the back of it for a little while any way. This city has been a wonderful place to live in for a while, but Im really looking forward to moving on and seeing a bit of South America and my friends in Las Lenas. Its at this point where I'd like to say that hopefully heading south might sober me up a bit, but I said the same thing when I left Fernie, and it only got worse. So Im not going to say it.

What I am not stoked on is the epic journey I'm taking to get there - Its a 14 hour flight from LA - Buenos Aires, then I have an 11 hour layover before boarding a bus for 18 hours to San Rafael on the west side of Argentina...then I think its either an additional two or four hours bus from San Rafael to Las Lenas. Im pretty sure I'm going to be an absolute wreck after that, and will probably want to either just sleep or get drunk when I finally arrive.

I looked at my snowboard the other day and am just so excited to get back on and go riding again. Everytime I think about it my heart jumps into my throat and I just want to scream. So this time next week hopefully I will be doing just that.

Hopefully I'll be able to report back to you after I arrive in Las Lenas!! I miss you all dearly and can't wait to see some of you again - others... yeah well.. JUST KIDDING!

Special love going out to those new mums-to-be, Beyonce and Dianne.

Much love.

Lauz xoxox

Argentina - in preparation... June 07

2008-01-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
>
> Its been a loooong while since I last wrote, so I thought I'd drop
> you all a
> line to let you know that (a) Im still alive, and (b) I haven't
> done any
> serious damage to myself, my friends or the world for that matter.
>
> Things in Calgary have really picked up over the past few weeks.
> Since I
> returned from the Sasquatch Festival in Washington, I've been
> working at
> WestJet Airlines, helping out the resourcing team with their
> outraegous need
> for people EVERYWHERE. So far I've helped with the recruiting
> process for a
> number of different areas, including the callcentre, IT,
> Accounting, ground
> crew and cabin crew. The team here are so awesome, and although
> I've only
> been here for about 4 weeks, I feel like i've worked with this
> team for a
> number of years. It's been easy to get comfortable here, and I am
> going to
> be sad to say goodbye to the team next Friday.
>
> I've been very lucky to receive flight privleges with WestJet -
> two weekends
> ago my friend Steve from Toronto came out to visit in Calgary - it
> cost him
> $36.40 return. From Toronto. To Calgary. It's like Melbourne to
> Perth and
> back. So he came out basically to have a few beers and head back
> to TO. And
> by a few beers I mean enough to probably kill a midget. Or an
> elephant.
> Steve was also wonderful to give me one of his skateboards! So I
> went to
> Toronto on the weekend to pick it up, and hang out with some good
> matesincluding the elusive Kelli Cutler! I arrived in TO at
> midnight, where my
> lovely pal 'Dre picked me up and we went downtown to meet up with
> Verg,Steve and Kel at Sneaky Dees. It was an outreagous night full
> of beer and
> jager, and basic immaturity and debauchery. I left TO at 5.35am in
> order to
> come back to Calgary and open the bar that I work at - talk about
> a flying
> visit! I think the best part of the night was when we all went for
> a skate
> outside Steve's house at 4am - it was like something out of a
> movie, and
> just so much fun!
>
> In the three months that I've been in Calgary, I've made some amazing
> friendships - mainly with the crew at Broken City, the bar I work at.
> They're all drunken lazy ba st ards, full of faults, just like me.
> Im sad
> that I'm going to be leaving them, and in all honesty, Im not too
> sure when
> Im going to see them again. I guess thats the lame thing about
> moving around
> - just as you start to build relationships and make friends, its
> time to
> leave again. I can safely say though, that a couple of the friendships
> established are keepers, and that I know for sure I'll see them again
> someday, and it will be just as rad as the last time I saw them.
>
> As for moving forward? I am SO EXCITED to be seeing Greg and Lori
> in Las
> Lenas (yeah boys you heard me!!) It's been a year since we last
> hung out
> together, and Im pretty sure the snow is going to be a katzillion
> timesbetter than last time we went riding. Im also hoping that
> I'll actually be
> able to keep up, and that they, and the other blokes don't leave
> me behind
> too many times. My one goal this season is to beat them all down a
> run once.
> Just once, Im not greedy. And that they don't go too easy on me.
> Maybe in
> return I'll teach them how to drink, heh.
>
> Okay, its time to head out. Im going to see the new *DIE HARD* movie
> tonight, and am very excited about it. If you're lucky I'll let
> you know how
> it ends... Just kidding!
>
> Much love to my lovelies, I miss you all a fair bit.
>
> Love Lauz xo
>

Fernie April 2007

2008-01-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Bonjour, hello, g'day, kia ora bro...

I hope this email finds everyone well and happy.

First and foremost - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Greg, Shel, and any other April baby I may have forgotten - I hope your days were full of raucous and debauchery.

Things in Fernie are winding down FAST! This is my second last bar shift at the Northern (boo/yeah!) and it is so quiet. I thought with the hockey playoffs and all we might have some people to serve, but it seems not to be the case.

The past week has been fun, boring, sleepy and snowy. We had a couple of unexpected-yet-gnarly powder days last Monday and Tuesday, with some areas of the mountain lighter and dustier snow than I've seen all season! Jen and I had lots of fun in the new fluff, and I took more bails in two days than I did this whole season! I also put some disgusting scratches in my new beloved board, which just makes my heart ache. But it was bound to happen, and the first scratch is always the most heartbreaking one. If you guys haven't seen a photo of my new baby, you can see it here -

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c366/Lauzzie/Fernie/NEWBOARD.jpg

Good Friday was also my good friend Toni's birthday, which we celebrated in true Aussie style with a good old barbie. We had street cricket, volleyball, a hackey sack circle, some AFL football kick to kick, and I think someone got towed by a car around the annex on a skateboard. I traded a beanie for a PAVLOVA and we drank fine Australian ales, and got rowdy. It was awesome.

The rad part was that CONCORD DAWN rocked the Royal on Saturday night with some dirty kiwi drum and bass. It was an absolute gongshow, with pretty much the whole of Fernie going crazy to some hectic beats. We literally partied until the sun came up!

It was absolutely no surprise to me that I got sick the next day. A throat infection to beat all throat infections - I believe my tonsils were bigger than golfballs! So I've been asleep pretty much for the past 3 days, trying to fight it off.

My roomate Jen hid easter eggs throughout our house on Sunday. Its kinda rad because everytime I sit down in the lounge room I find another chocolate!

So I leave Fernie in 8 days, and its going to be bittersweet I think. It already has been sad, as I've said 'see you later' to some people who have really touched my heart over the season. It is SO exciting though, that Argentina is only just around the corner. I think my liver will be happy to not be pounded with so much alcohol. Who knows - I might even go on a detox or something!

On that note Im going to go cry in a corner having just said goodbye to this lovely guy Jason who is leaving town tomorrow. Jude you would have loved him.

Feel free to email me guys, in my emo state. If not, I still love you anyway.

Take care out there,

Love Lauz xoxox

Calgary May 2007

2008-01-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I was just sitting at the table enjoying a cup of coffee and reading through the latest National Geographic magazine. There is an article in the US edition called "The Health of our Coasts," and talks about how man's desire to live by the ocean is ruining ecosystems and threatening endagered species - duhhh... What made my heart sink into my chest were the spectaularl-yet heartbreaking photos that accompany this article. Miami's sky scrapers overwhelming the natural beauty of the coastline its sitting on; a river of trash lining a LA creek that runs into the sea; a photo of a rare but dead turtle on Florida's beach, with a yellow Caution tape around its neck!!!!

As I look at these images its almost enough to make me cry. WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY DOING?!?!?! They have some of the most amazing coastlines in the world, and they're just p1ssing it away??? What sort of impression are they leaving for future generations, that its okay to dump their trash wherever the he ll they feel like it?!?! It makes me so mad that I feel like my heart is doing a jig under my ribcage.

And then I think of home, especially Perth - and how pristine the coasts are -Margaret River, the Great Ocean Road, even in Scarborough and St Kilda!!! They are in such good shape in comparison to the coasts of the States - and it makes me proud to say that at least in one way, we haven't followed suit of the States. I truly hope with my everything, that it stays that way. *phew!*

Anyway, things here are going well in Calgary. Im still working at Broken City, and it looks like I might have picked up a recruiting role with WestJet!! Im about to call them to finalise a few things (like MONEY!!!) before I take the plunge back into the real world. Hopefully they'll offer me a hundred gatzillion dollars, and I won't have to worry about the cashflow for Argentina. Hah!

Im heading to the Gorge in WASHINGTON tomorrow, to go to a music festival called the Sasquatch festival. Its a two or three day festival where you camp out and watch sweet bands like the Beastie Boys and Interpol. Should be lots of fun. Im buying a 40, just for the occassion!

The thing that is a little bit hairy is that the Greyhound bus line are on strike at the moment, and I was hoping to spend tomorrow in Fernie, before my old room mates and I take off for the festival. So Fernie cats, if you know of anyone heading to Fernie from Calgary tomorrow, could you let me know? It be MUCH better than hitching, heh.

Anyhoo, things are great, I can't wait to get to Buenos Aires though. Should be a blast!!

Talk soon everyone, much much love.

Lauz

Calgary May 2007

2008-01-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd write an update to you all - this timeI'll try and keep it SHORT!

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHITEY!!! Hope you had a rad day.

Things here in Calgary are going really well. I start my new job at Broken City tonight, which will be lots of fun. For those of you who know either Sneaky Dees in Toronto, or the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Broken City is EXACTLY like those bars. It has live shows 5 nights a week, and Im looking forward to getting in on the local band scene.

I was lucky enough to see Social Distortion play nearly two weeks ago which was so awesome. This week the Bouncing Souls are playing both here in town and in Banff on the weekend, and I think Im going to get to both shows which will be fun. Everclear is also playing here on Sunday night, so its gig central right now!

I also just had an interview/chat with a company called CNC Global, a recruitment agency that specialises recruitment of IT professionals. They're owned by the same group that I used to work for back home, and they *might* have a 2 month contract for me with one of their major clients - this would be mainly internal recruitment, but paying really well and would allow me to keep working nights at Broken City. I would have to wear a suit again (hahahahahha!!!), and probably find a better way to hide my pink hair, but the more I think about it the more excited I am to do something that will make me use my brain again and challenge me. So we'll see where that goes.

My friend Jason from Fernie and I headed up to Banff on the weekend where we rode Sunshine on Friday and Louise on the Saturday. It was so rad! I didn't think I'd be back on my board until Las Lenas in July, so was STOKED to get some more snow time in. We also got to see the Beautiful Girls play in Banff so that was an absolute bonus. I hadn't seen them play since their Fremantle gig last year so it was really a nice surprise.

Although things here in Cow-town are going well, I can't help but miss Fernie. Im living with my lovely Godparents, which is rad, and I've been off the booze for... well nearly 5 days anyway - hah! Its great to feel like Im part of a family again, but Im missing my Fernie family like nothing else. Its a strange feeling.

Anyhoo, I think I should probably try and get moving to work. We have drum n bass night tonight, so that will be interesting!

I hope you're all well and happy, and your respective parts of the world are being good to you.

Much much love,

Lauzzie xox

Fernie in Feb 2007

2008-01-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Its been a while since I last wrote, since the Venice Beach fun and games. Fernie has been AMAZING the past few weeks, and I've been snowboarding my guts out. Im currently at work trying to organise this freaking bar, with little success at the moment, so I thought I'd take a break and make you all green with envy with what I've been up to these past few weeks.

On the work front, things have been VERY messy. I returned from Venice to a war zone. It was pretty much everyone versus the owner, and people's attitudes towards work and eachother were at an all time low. My manager Tami seemed to have lost interest in working here, and this other girl Dani decided she hates another work colleague and showed this last Saturday when she punched the poor girl in the face in front of about 120 customers. Needless to say, she was fired. Tami has demoted herself to bartender and now its me left to pick up the slack - so I guess Im now the manager, and things here are in an absolute shambles!! Can't wait to crack the whip and start getting things back in order. I just interviewed a new girl to start day shifts here, am now responsible for the managing of rosters, finances and accounts and recruitment (surprise surprise!). I'll keep you posted with how things go!

Being the end-ish of February I've started putting plans in order to get to Argentina for July - only 20 weeks to go, and I gotta start saving some dollars! I found a flight that departs Calgary in July, which will be good. My plan is to head to Calgary at the season's end, work about 3 jobs and save my butt off until July. With a little luck I might be able to board with my godparents, which will be awesome, as its VERY expensive to find a place to live in Calgary.

I've been snowboarding more than I've been drinking recently... actually thats an absolute lie. They're both on par - I've been doing a lot of both. On Sunday I met these awesome guys from the US who were on vacation for a few days - some mad skiers - and I was lucky enough to hang out with them this week and try to keep up- they were so fast!! I made it through some terrain that I hadn't been able to get to before, and got down a very sketchy looking chute without killing myself (Gerg, it was the High Saddle chute from Currie Bowl into Lizzard Bowl - sweeeet!). I'm now at one with tree runs - soooo much fun! Today Im really sore - my knees are swollen and full of fluid, and my arms, legs and guts are just aching - and it feels awesome!

Its puking outside at the moment, so tomorrow is going to be a sweet sweet day. Can't wait to get up there and shred it!

Okay everyone, hope all is well. I have to go watch the bar for a bit so Im out. I'd love to hear from all of you - get your act together and write me a bl00dy email!!!!

Lots of love,

Lauz xoxox

PS - Photos will be up shortly on my Photobucket site - http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c366/Lauzzie/Fernie/ theres heaps on there, including some from Australia day, and our Mohawks and Mullets party - weeee!

Feb 2007 - Venice Beach Visit

2008-01-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Im back in Calgary today, on my way back home to Fernie. This past weekend has been amazing, where I spent the whole 3ish days hanging out with my two sisters Shel and Rach. Whoever thought that the three of us could spend so much time together and not have one fight?!

I flew into LAX on Thursday night, after being in transit since 2.30am - what a shi tty trip - a Greyhound from Fernie to Calgary, then a flight from Calgary to Seattle, then FINALLY into LA at 7pm. GROSS! I guess it was okay though, I probably got more sleep in transit than I would have at home! The first thing I noticed was how mild LA was. Shel came and got me, and was whinging at the chill in the air, but I was stoked - it was almost bikini weather!Rachel flew in at 10.30 and cabbed it back to Shelley's place, where we just hung out and drank some beer. We were all too tired to go out, and spent the first night in, just hanging out.

On Friday we got breakfast and went for a walk to Santa Monica. Venice Beach is SO beautiful, so eclectic. There are really ALL KINDS of people there, and the coolest part is everyone is so happy to say they live in Venice. I know why Shelley doesn't ever want to leave. It was so warm that I got my pins out in a skirt for the first time since I can remember, and we just bummed around - nothing really exciting to report, but it was sooooo fun! Rachel learnt how to skateboard, and I wouldn't be surprised if she comes home with an LA longboard under her arm. Friday night saw us hanging out at Ricks Tavern in Santa Monica, where we played the "Band game" - a game where you say the name of a band, then the next person has to say the name of a band beginning with the last letter of the previous band's name. Sounds simple and boring, but we played for literally 4 hours, with some locals joining in at one point. Shelley made out with a guy who looked just like Ashton Kutcher, something that Rach and I found pretty funny.

On Saturday Rachel and I hired bikes and rode all the way up past Santa Monica, almost to Malibu. The bike path stopped along the beach so we turned back, but still managed to clock up nearly 25km's in a short time frame. I got SO SUNBURNT on my arms but my legs are still whiter than an albino hiding in the snow. We met some rad Venice local boys on Saturday night, who all happened to be local tattoo artists. We hung out and drank with them for a few hours and then caused a bit of a raucous at the Townhouse bar, which sells LONG NECKS by the bottle and double shots as singles!!! It was fun :)

Then on Superbowl Sunday, Rach and I hid out in a bar and tried to make sense of that weird-a ss game. I still don't understand why they call it "football" when they don'tuse their feet! And all of a sudden, Im back in Calgary, where its not 26 degrees and sunny, more like minus 5 degrees and cold, cold cold. And Im kind of relieved about it too. Venice Beach is amazing, and fun on so many levels, but its also quite overwhelming. When one of the tattoo guys walked me home on Saturday night, he was arrested and thrown to the ground by the LAPD because he fit the description of a person who SHOT SOMEONE ON THE BOARDWALK!!! He had guns held to his head, and had to spend a good few hours telling them it wasn't him! Stuff like that happens in LA, and that freaks me out a bit. I think it would chew me up and spit me out if I lived there. But its a rad place to visit!!

I hope everyone is well and happy back home. I personally can't wait to get on my snowboard again. I'll write again when something rad happens to me :)

Much love everyone, be safe etc. Please pass this onto anyone I have forgotten, or whoever wants to read about it! I'll have photos up on my photobucket site by the end of this week.

Lauz xox

January 2007

2008-01-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I've FINALLY put up some photos onto my Photobucket site. The link is

http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c366/Lauzzie/Fernie/

Have a gander, and definitely have a giggle. They are quite funny actually.

Hope all is well back home. Things here are pretty awesome. Im in the process of planning a crazy Australia Day/Hottest 100 party here at the bar, (we're currently the only official overseas venue which is pretty cool) which will be complete with Boonie memorabilia and terrible Aussie beer. i've also been helping to organise a "Mohawks and Mullets" party next Wednesday that will be the theme for our regular metal night. We have a hair dresser coming in to cut mullets into those brave and drunken souls who volunteer, and its going to be good fun all round I think.

Its been an average of -25 here all week, WAY too cold to get me to the hill. Its icy and cold but no wind which is a blessing. I think its supposed to warm up over the next few days so hopefully we'll get some more SNOW which is what we're all waiting for.

And tonight Im going to have my first alcohol free night in 10 days. My housemate Lisa and I have gone through close to 20 bottles of red wine in that time frame and my liver is now in a state of shock. I hope my head doesn't explode from not being boozy tonight!!!

Ok, so its time to get back to work. I love you all and miss you all lots too. Enjoy the photos!!

Love love,

Lauz xox

Merry Christmas - December 2006

2008-01-02T19:01:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone,

First and foremost: Lorri, apologies for adding you to the group email. I know you hate them but I am too busy trying to snowboard to write individual ones. I love you all the same, and hope you get some snow soon. Yeaaah!

Life has been HECTIC over here. I've been working loads at the bar, as my manager Tami took off home for the Christmas, so I've been doing her job, filling in on extra bar shifts, and drinking way too much Canadian whiskey. On Wednesday night I finished work at 3am and headed over to the "fan clubs" house where I drank a mickey of rye and man did I pay for it on Thursday!!!

With Christmas being so close now, I can't help but to think about home and my fam (I love you the Jude) and how hot it is over there. Its so weird, but so AWESOME waking up to snow outside, where balmy means -5 degrees (trust me, compared to what it was like a few weeks ago that is Tshirt weather!!!), getting out of bed and into my snowboard gear just to grab a few runs in before I have to work again - it really is living the dream. I dont' ever want to leave, and if it snowed all year round I probably wouldn't.

For all you snowbums reading this, Fernie really is paradise in the Rockies. The resort is literally a 5-7 minute drive from my house, and the terrain is GNARLY!!!! Its a lot steeper than anything I've ridden before, and up until a few days ago the snow was soft and deep powder like Id never seen before. It hasn't snowed for a couple of days so its pretty icy and wind blown up there right now, and I have sustained my first "injury," which is in my right hand - unfortunately it wasn't doing anything awesome, like dropping off a cliff or whatever (pffft!!!! AS IF!!!) I merely jarred it when I was coming down an icy patch. It kinda sucks because its now really swollen and stiff. I've been strapping it but I don't think its going to help too much. Hopefully there is no major tendon damage!!

Fernie is also perve central for the girls - woooooop! There are SO MANY hot guys here. I have a lot of trouble keeping my eyeballs in my head, especially when we host punk and metal night at the bar. Oh mercy!! heh.

Christmas Day is giong to be rad - they're predicting snow overnight, so Im going to go riding, then my friends Jason and Jesse are throwing a Christmas dinner with apparently a 25 pound turkey!! I'll let you know how it all turns out. I think its giong to be lots of wine and lots of food, so not much different to a home Chrissie!!

I've made loads of new friends here. The people that this place attracts are just amazing. They're all so lovely and genuine and I'm so lucky to have had these people come into my life. For example, when my snowboard got stolen, the lovely boys at Commit Apparel are hooking me up with a new M Four Discord (greg you'd love it. Its such a hot board!!) and Flux bindings at COST. They're not going to make any money out of it, but were so appalled that someone would have done that they were more than happy to hook me up. So Im stoked, and will be buying all my gear from them from now on. I'll also be sending a whole heap of Commit stuff home for those who are interested, so let me know and I'll send you out some goodies.

I dont' have too much to report apart from that. Im looking forward to getting out of work for a few hours, so on that note, much love to you all. Have a wonderful holiday season, be safe and all the best for the New year.

Peace out

Love Always

Lauz

Stolen Snowboard - December 2006

2008-01-02T19:01:00.001-07:00

Hi Y'all

Its with my fists clenched into balls of rage and a severe hangover that I tell you about the past few days. I'm currently at work but about to head home and get back on the phone to my insurance comapny and try and work out how Im going to claim back my snowboard that got stolen from my house on Saturday night.

GAHHH Im so mad. I was in the freaking bath when it happened. The rude SOB would have had to walk off the street, 25 metres up the driveway to the side entrance of my house, and step through the shed to see where the boards were, next to the laundry. The worst part is one of the boards was my friend Tami's and now with 3 days before the hill opens, I am down a board, and have no bindings to put on my good ride. SO ANNOYING!

The good thing that has come from this is the support I've received from my new friends around town. Two boys I know, Matt and Adam, have just opened their own clothing label called *COMMIT* and when I told them about the theft they were so angry that they've designed a whole heap of missing posters and are putting them up around town for me. My land lord has informed the mountain security people and theyre going to keep an eye out for them too. The pawn shop and the cops are also on the lowdown, and everyone who comes into the bar cops an earful from me too, so Im confident that if anyone sees either mine or Tamis board they're in for a severe sledging!! That is, of course, if the theives are stupid enough to use them here in Fernie. And Im kinda counting on that, heheh.

Apart from that things have been pretty snazzy. I recently became the proud owner of a top of the range avalanche beacon, for a killer price too. All I have to do now is practise using it and if I get caught in a slide at least someone can find me. Work has been pretty good, its getting busier now that we're so close to the hill opening. Its been pretty warm by last weeks comparison, with temperatures ranging from -5 to +2 or so. Hopefully it will start to cool down again soon and we'll keep the snow we have for a bit longer.

I haven't really got much else to add really. Im going to be playing cat and mouse with the insurance blokes. Should be fun. I hope everything is well at home. Please pass this email onto anyone i've forgotten!!

Oh - and if anyone feels like contributing to Lauz's lost snowboard fund, i will happily accept donations in booze and Christmas presents, heheh.

Love love,

Lauz xoxox

Minus 25! Fernie November 2006

2008-01-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I know its been a while since my last email, so I thought I'd update you in typical Lauz style - long winded and boring... So here goes!

Im sitting here in Calgary, at my god mum's house while its currently negative 20ish degrees outside. I hitched a ride up from Fernie with a few mates who are going to the Hatebreed concert tonight, and I felt like a road trip, so why not I say! It is so cold outside, and Im am very glad that Im not out there anymore - I walked for about 5 minutes from where I got dropped off to the house, and I felt like my face was about to fall off!

Things in Fernie have been nothing short of AWESOME. I love the town, and feel like I have lived there for more than just 4 weeks. I've made some amazing friends, I have a rad job at the Northern Hotel ( www.northernhotel.ca - the site's still a work in progress) and am loving life here. In the four weeks I've gone through three housemates - the first two have left for apartment style living on the hill for the season, poor Taz had her sponsorship declined and had to go back to Australia in the space of 16 hours, and the fourth is a smart mouthed 18 year old kiwi called Johnny who is just rad... I think its going to be a good season, heh heh.

My bar manager Tami is the love of my life - in a girl/friend kind of way. She's just like me. So you could all imagine that we've gotten up to some mischief in the past few weeks. Last week we had this awesome band play at work, and Tami rostered us on to work together so we could watch the band play and get paid for it. We also went to this CRAZY party afterwards, which is an annual Fernie party, put on in honour of someones dog's birthday. There was a 10ft high bonfire, and it was snowing, there was a mosh pit in the house, and everyone was clutching dirty longnecks and stumbling around. It felt like a Bright party!! I managed to get home before 6am which was a good effort I thought.

I've also made friends with this guy who Im certain is destined for world domination. Keep an eye out for the *COMMIT* label for those of you interested in the snow/skate apparel. He's opening his first shop in Fernie this weekend and it's going to go off.

On Friday I had my first taste of hiking and snowboarding. And I did so with the worst hangover of all time. And I pretty much fell down the hill, having never ever ridden in thigh deep powder before. I think its going to take a lot of practise for me to get the hang of it!! It took Tami and I an hour to hike up this particular slope, and it was a near-sick experience - we drank way too much red wine the night before to be out in the snow thats for sure!!! But it was sooo much fun, and I can't wait to get back up there again! I've met a very nice looking boy who has a snow mobile, so Im going to use my charm and good looks to get a few lifts up the mountain with him heh heh...

Well thats about it from me really. The hill opens next week, so it will probably be a long while between emails. I'd love to hear whats happening back home - send me some juicy gossip already! Sapphire/Select people, please pass on my hellos and love and stuff. And this email. If you feel like it :o)

Lots of love and stuff,

Lauz

Reel Big Fish in Calgary, November 2006

2008-01-02T18:59:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone,

Im writing from Calgary, where I've been since yesterday afternoon. Its been a GNARLY 24 hours, with lots of fun and excitement had by not only I but the lovely people I was hanging out with.

A few weeks back Shelley and I learnt that our favourite ska band Reel Big Fish were playing in Calgary. As some of you will know, we have a bit of history with this band, myself having been backstage and hanging out with the guys every time I've seen them play, the last which was in October last year where we played the rockstars and trashed the backstage area of the Gravity Games in Perth with Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger. (Shel and I also stole Grinspoons entire booze rider while they were playing their set, teehee!!!)

So I told Shel to email Aaron (the lead singer) and let him know we were in Canada and would love to see them play - also to see if he could get us on the door for free of course! He replied within a few days and said no worries, that we could expect free entry to the show. I was lucky enough to hitch a ride up from Fernie with my new friend Adam, which saved me a 5hour trip on a bus and about 80 bucks so I was stoked.

When we got to the venue, we were STOKED to find two Access All Areas passes for us. We totally didn't expect this, and were really really excited to be able to head backstage and see the guys again. They were being supported by two other bands, Surburban Legends and another one I cant remember.

We got to hang out with them all before they played their set. Milo the sound technician gave us a couple of beers and I got chatting to John, one of the trumpet players, about books and Iron Maiden!! It was certainly a more mature band than last year, a lot of them sipping herbal tea instead of necking bottles of vodka, but it was awesome all the same. It was so great to see Aaron and Scott in particular. Scott (the lead trumpet, harmonies, and guitar guy) fell quite ill while on tour of Australia and NZ last year, with a condition known as GBS, a disease that blocks the messages sent from your brain to your body as I understand it, so it had been about 5 years since I last got to hang out with him. As he talked about his illness, he did so very openly and very descriptive about his symptoms and the like. He also remembered the last time we hung out in Melbourne, when he had recently given up booze. He remembered how we sat outside and just chatted about stuff, and also that Shel was wearing a hat that night - I couldn't believe how good his memory was!

They played a really fun set, and afterwards we went to a local pub for some long island ice teas and a good chat. Most of the band came down, as did some of the guys from Surburban Legends. It was really good fun, and although there was no public disgrace this time round, it was so rad to catch up and have a laugh with some old friends.

There are some photos on my new Photobucket account (I've given up on Yahoo, as they resize the original photos and you can't retrieve them - booerns!) if you feel like having a gander, they're at

Thats all for now! Today we went to the local shopping centre and saw Borat the movie which was sooooo offensive and soo wrong it was absolutely hilarious. Anyone who isn't offended by religious, political, sexist or nude taunts, then I highly encourage you to go see it - You won't be disappointed, but maybe just a little bit sick to the stomach in parts. Im heading back to Fernie in the morning so I can get to work on time. We've got the Mahones playing tomorrow night and Im working the day shift so it will be lots of Irish whiskeys to be accompanied by some silly punch drunk irish punk rock. Should be a blinder!

Lots of love ( I hope you're all praying to the snow gods for me!)

Lauz xo

Fernie November 2006

2008-01-02T18:59:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

Im writing from Fernie, BC, where the outside temp is currenlty about -6C!! The past threeish days have been AWESOME and I love this town. I'll try and keep things relatively short...

My limited time in Calgary was pretty rad. In short, I invested in a pair of awesome genuine cowboy boots, went to a country and western bar (where I got to see real cowboys, wrangler men, hubba hubba) ride a mechanical bull, get called a "Sunshine girl" by some old dude (apparently its the equivalent to Picture magazines page 3 girl... I thought he was referring to my obviously Australian accent but no.. ) dressed up like a cowgirl at said country and western pub, and got asked to dance by a nice looking Albertan...

Most of the above was done on Thursday night, add way too many gin and tonics and a rowdy younger sister in tow, and you have a recipe for disaster. It was sooo much fun. When I get a chance to upload some photos you'll get to have a laugh for yourselves.

I had to be on a Greyhound bus out of Calgary at 6.30am on the Friday, so it was no surprise that I felt like absolute trash by the time it came to get out of bed. I think I was still drunk when I asked for my ticket to Fernie, upset the bus loading guy and passed out until Fort MacLeod, a little hick town close to the Alberta/BC border. I arrived in Fernie just after midday and my friend Yvette was there to pick me up and take me to my new home in Fernie.

Saturday night I went and saw an AC/DC cover band called BC/DC, and they were surprisingly good! Fernie is in the grips of Halloween fever at the moment so there were ghouls and mummies and vampires and zombies everywhere. I met some Aussies there who are less prepared for the season than I am!!! I also bombed most of the bars with my hospo resume, in the hope to get some bar work fast because the funds are draining = I have a few major purchases to make in the coming weeks, including an avalanche pack (tranceiver shovel and probe) some more outerwear and I might be looking at a bigger board, seeing as though my 155 and 156 are too small for powder...WHAT!!!

On Sunday it SNOWED! And I mean snowed - the roads are covered in the white stuff. Yvette and I ran around town like loonies, and she even donned her skis to go "carving" in the back yard. Pretty funny!!

So the forecast for the week is nothing above +1 until Friday I think. I have to get myself a halloween costume - Im thinking an undead zombie princess complete with daggy 80's sequinned dress - as well as trying to get some dollars under my belt. I spoke to a manager at the Fernie Hotel today and its owned by Aussies, so Im hoping my background gets me in, because my good looks and charming wit just isn't cutting it at the moment.

I have a home phone and an address now, so those of you feeling lovely enough to call and say hi, or send lovely care packages (vegemite please!!!) details are...

PO Box 2081

Fernie, BC V0B-1M0

+1 250 423 3431

I miss you all lots and lots. Mum can you please give Heineken a big cuddle for me.

Please forward this to anyone who's interested too :)

Lots of love and stuff

Lauz xoxo

Pineapple Express - Fernie November 2006

2008-01-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hello y'all,

I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH RAIN BEFORE IN MY LIFE!!!!

It is Tuesday afternoon and just gone 5pm, and it hasn't stopped raining in Fernie since Friday. I watched on the news last night that its due to a weather thing-o known as the "Pineapple Express," a warm front that has made its way up from Hawaii, and as a result we've been raining and not snowing. Doesn't leave much to do, except cook, clean eat and sleep. Life is pretty boring at the moment, and would be so much better if I had something to do other than watch the rain.

Well - I have something to do now. It just involves getting saturated to and from the house.

I joined up at the local gym which is a 5 minute walk from my house - STOKED! They have punching bags there, and I got really excited the first time I trained there, that I took the skin off my knuckles. I guess I"ll be looking for a pair of gloves before I do that again! Dre, you'll be pleased to know that I've embraced skipping as a cardio workout - my calves aren't hating me as much as I thought they would. There was a girl there yesterday who was using the punching bag, and she had the WORST technique I've ever seen - she looked so bad, and I had to have a giggle at her, and thought how lucky I was to be trained to fight with good technique.

I've also made friends with the girls who are living in the basement apartment under our house - their names are Jen and Lisa and they are pretty cool. Last night Jen and I went to the Northern Hotel (my new place of employment - woohoo!!!) and got pretty wasted on these horrible things called Irish Car Bombs. It was disgusting but fun. Needless to say this morning was pretty average!

The Northern is a COOL place. Its a band venue, and they are always the ones with the good gigs in town. They're going to try and get Hatebreed and another band I can't remember there, which will be sooooo rad. It probably won't happen, but you got to try eh? On Wednesday nights they have Metal Night where people bring in their favourite metal CD's and they play them in the pub... Its the perfect place for me to be working!!!

Unfortunately I haven't much to tell you. There's no snow, but lots of rain. The weather gurus (and i use the term very loosely) are predicting snow later in the week when the temperature drops to a high of -15 but Im not holding my breath.

I hope all is well in your respective parts of the world. I am loving Fernie, but wish it would get colder and snow properly already!

Much love to you all. (For crying out loud would ONE of you Sapphire nerds get off your butts and reply already?! I miss you guys!)

See ya :)

Lauz

Calgary 2006 - Im gonna get me a cowboy!

2008-01-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

First and foremost - Amber, I would have been lost without that beautiful scarf you knitted me - its been a flu-saver!!!!

Hi y'all,

Im writing from my god mum's house here in Calgary. After leaving Toronto with a very heavy heart yesterday, I've been blessed with some rancho relaxo type hospitality, with my god mum and her family. I haven't seen them in ten years, so its been great to catch up and enjoy their company once again.

The last weekend in Toronto was so rad. It began on Friday night, with an impromptu piss up at a pool hall down town - my sis and I had missioned out to the Toronto Zoo, and checked out all the animals there so by the time we got back to town we were ready for a drink or two. To get to the Toronto Zoo on public transport takes aaaaaaaaages, and we both fell asleep on the subway on the way home.

So it was to a pool hall where I hit the gin and tonics in a pretty hard way. It was fun to just hang out and attempt to play pool, and just have a laugh. Needless to say the next morning was a bit rough when we had to wake up early to get to Niagra Falls.

Vergel and his lovely girlfriend Anne-Marie took us to Niagra the next day. The town itself is crazy! Its just like going to a carnival, there are haunted houses, and wax museums and ferris wheels, and the biggest arcade I've ever been in! Vergel described it as "Las Vegas in the 1950's" with all their tacky motels and casinos - it really was something else.

Then there were the falls themselves. I have never seen anything like it before in my life. To be so close to ALL THAT FRESH WATER... There's more in that part of Ontario alone than there is in all of Australia I reckon - its crazy! For those of you who haven't seen it, there are actually two falls - the pissy American side, and the majestic Canadian horseshoe falls. Shelley and I got photos of us looking suitably unimpressed in front of the American Falls, and then jumping for joy in front of the Canadian ones - it was quite funny.

So much water... It was so awesome. Vergel told us that Ontario dam a lot of the water too, so what we see at the falls is still only about a third of what it is capable of, as a lot of it is used in hydro electric plants. After getting drenched by the mist, and enjoying what Niagra had to offer, we headed back to Anne-Marie's house where she cooked us a most excellent meal. I felt so spoilt!

Sunday started out pretty chilled - Shelley and I spent a good 3 hours chilling out at Mecury Espresso Bar - the BEST coffee bar in all of Toronto!! I was working out a budget for the Argentina romp next July, and just writing in my journal.. Its amazing how time can fly when you're faffing around like that! Steve, Dre and Carina came and joined in the coffee sipping before we all headed out for some Thai food up in the 'burbs. Then the most random and spontaneous idea for the whole trip was thought up - lets go to the fucking amusement park. Oh and WHAT an idea that was!!

Its been days after this happened and Im still smiling like a loser about it all. Someone suggested that we go to Fearfest, a halloween-themed night at Canada's Wonderland. We rode all the rollercoasters, in 2 hours! Thats more roller coasters than I've been on in my LIFE... in 2 hours!!! It was the best sober fun I've had in ages - I felt like I was 16 again, on a big group date. Awesome to the max!

There's more to tell but I'll leave it there for now. Heaps of photos available, if you want a gander, just message me and I'll send you the link (yes I am too lazy to upload them all, I have like 500 of them from the Toronto leg alone!)

I'll be arriving in Fernie tomorrow around lunchtime by Greyhound, unless I can find a ride from Calgary with some exceptional people who'd be happy to take me and my luggage :) Will write again when I get a chance.

I now I've forgotten very important people from this email, but I still can't work out the gmail contacts list thing. Please forward onto whoever would like to know where I am with my apologies heh.

Much love

Lauz :)

Iron Maiden, Muay Thai etc. October 2006, Toronto.

2008-01-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yo everyone,

So the past week has been INSANE!!! Another word just wouldn't do any justice to what I've experienced over the past few days. Im falling more in love with Toronto each day, and I think its going to be hard to leave and not want to come back.

Its a pretty nice day today, about 16 degrees. Shelley is sick, got some throat infection, and has taken to her favourite Torontonian past time - watching cable. I swear she's watched more movies in the past week than I have seen this year!!! I went to my first boxing class for the first time in 3 weeks last night, and my body is suffering. It was a proper Muay Thai boxing gym, and it had a ring and everything! I had to skip for fifteen minutes jsut to warm up!!! My god, my calves are so sore Im having difficulty standing up!! It was so rad though - just what I needed after a weekend of debauchery. Kru Mel was the jedi master of the class, and took us through some f**king gruelling cardio stuff - dynamics and holding your own body weight - awesome but so painful. And they kick differently there too, which was interesting. I had to kick with my shoes off, and had to wrap my own hands which sucked cause I didn't pay attention to Toddy when he wrapped them for me! So I felt like a bit of a loser, hehe. But it was so rad. I really really hope they have a gym like that in Fernie - although I am doubtful. So I'll be happy with a bag or something.

On Monday night I went to Iron Maiden!!! And it was everything I hoped it would be - outrageous theatrics, Bruce in his rock opera glory (although he wasn't wearing leather pants which was bitterly disappointing); Yannick Gers was so funny, prancing around the stage in his exceptionally tight diamonte style jeans, hurling his guitar 20ft into the air and catching it without missing a riff... I was in my element!!! We had awesome seats too, 4 rows from the front, and in perfect view of the stage. Afterwards I felt kind of sorry for the guys I went with, because everytime anything happened on stage - Bruce could have moved to the left - and I'd squeal like a little girl. I was so overwhelmed and excited by the fact that I was at a Maiden concert that I didn't know what to say or do. They played most of their latest album, but also played some classics, like Fear of the Dark, 2 Minutes to Midnight, and they closed with Hallowed be thy Name which was soooooooo awesome words can't describe. Bruce in all his glory. Wooooooo!!!

Then there was the snowboard party on Saturday night - photos to come. The party had a few important reasons - it was my friend Steve's 26th birthday, and his whole crew were there for the celebrations. It was also a bit of a snowboard.com meet, with some people rocking up from London, Hamilton and Ottawa to share in the festivities. I got a little on the drunk side, shotgunning cans like it was going out of fashion. I wanted to smash this one bartender though, for being wildly incompetent, and slow and f*cking ugly, but I was able to keep my anger within and not ruin the night by getting thrown out in the -something degree cold. We ended up at a RAVE (yes Nick, a rave!!) at this warehouse which was so cool. I'd had way too many gin and tonics though, and by around 6am had to leave in a bumbling mess. Needless to say, Sunday was not a fun day.

So thats been the game the past little while. I've walked pretty much the whole of Toronto, bought a new helmet with inbuilt speakers at the Snowboard show, experienced awesome coffee, and terrible coffee, saw BRUCE DICKINSON, and got to work out for a bit. Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow, so I can go to the technique class tomorrow night. I'm feeling pretty out of practise, and after seeing some of those fighters last night, I know Im a loooooong way off from being totally awesome at it. It'd be a good excuse to perve on Kru Mel again, that guy is HOT!

This weekend Vergel is taking us to Niagra Falls, and its going to be so awesome - Can't wait.

OK guys, I'll leave you to it. I know how annoying epic emails can be, so love to you all, hope all's well back home. Beyonce can you please forward this to the Melbourne crew, and to anyone else who might be interested.

Would love to hear from you all, so if you get a sec drop me a line :) MY Canadian mobile number is +1 647 2810 879 if you ever feel like texting me :)

Much love to you all

Lauz

Toronto, Part 1 - October 2006

2008-01-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

So the past week has been a 'little' on the crazy side. Im now in Toronto, having just woken up at 12.30 in the wee hours of the afternoon. Its apparently 7 degrees outside, and Im not sure how Im going to cope with that!!

I have very exciting news. Last night I caught up with my friend Steve, and he told me IRON MAIDEN are playing in town on Monday night. I've never seen them play live before, and nearly cried when I heard about it. I'm so freaking excited, I get to see Bruce in all his medieval rock opera-tic glory, singing about dragons and injins and runnng to hills. WOOOOOO!!!

We're going to see Pennywise tonight too, which is going to be sooo rad. Its been a while since I went to a good gig, and the fact that Im seeing Pennywise, who I thought were broken up a long time ago.... its going to be gnarly as!!

Cris, you'll be happy to know that the package you gave me to pass on to Carrie (I think?! Please reconfirm!!) made it through customs and I don't think its broken.

The flight from Auckland to LA was pretty blah to be honest - but if you're going to do it, try and go AirNZ - they do look after you with relatively real food, great entertainment, and a pretty comfy cattle class. I had an aisle to myself, and was able to sleep with my feet on the seats, and I also got to watch Nacho Libre, and a whole season of 'Bro Town, which is the BEST CARTOON EVER. www.brotown.co.nz check it out :)

I met Shelley at LAX which was rad. She's looking great, despite my taunts that she looks like a dirty stinking hippy. She's spent the past month living in a hostel in Venice Beach, getting baked with the hippies in the drum circle, so I suppose it has to wear off eventually. We got onto our Air Canada flight, and had to deal with this fckface hostie, who thought he was so smart. I just wanted to roundhouse kick him to the face!!!

So we're here. Its rad, and I love Toronto. Its a lot like Melbourne, except its way bigger, and they have SQUIRELS here, just hanging out in the trees. There aren't any birds though, which I think is a bit weird. But the squirels are soooo cute. They remind me of a kid with ADD. But anyway.

The snowboard show is on Saturday, and Im looking forward to getting there. Steve told me that all the major resorts fromthe west coast hire there too, so I'll be getting my resume printed and ready to go to try and hook up some work before I get to Fernie. Ideally I'd love to get a job in one of the pubs there, and work nights - I am most excellent at pouring beers and being FRIENDLY behind the bar. So cross your fingers for me!

Anyways. I better go do something with today. It looks LOVELY out there, hehe.

Perth/Select/Sapphire crew, please pass this onto anyone who might like to see it :)

Love love,

Lauz

Bye NZ, Hello Canada - October 2006

2008-01-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Kia Ora everyone,

Im at Auckland International right now, just waiting for my flight to LA. Its been a CRAZY 5 days in NZ, with many mis-adventures and situations that could only happen when its Lauz.

First of all, my flight got changed last minute from MEL-BNE-AKL to MEL-CHC. This was because of the Auckland direct flight being booked out - the joys of stand by!! So Michael was awesome enough to change my flight the night before I flew out to Christchurch, and I booked a flight from Christchurch to Auckland through Qantarse. It so happened that there was some gnarly storm happening over Wellington, and once I disembarked into Christchurch, I found out that my QF flight was cancelled due to the weather, and the one after cancelled due to needing a freaking jump start or something. So the dudes at Qantas were good enough to put me on an air NZ flight to get me to Auckland. Which was delayed. Due to weather. Excellent heh.

Cris came and got me from the airport and I got an evening whirlwind tour of South Auckland - the bronx apparently!

The next few days involved tours of Auckland and its surrounds, I caught a ferry into the city, met up with Kaz and met the Sapphire team in Auckland which was fun, went up the Sky Tower and felt sick, saw SNOWPLANET which was rad rad rad, and got some beers in as well. Cris was also able to hook me up with a ride to Mt Ruapehu with his friends Tanya and Blair, as well as a bunk in their ski club - wooohooo!!!

The Saturday was BLUEBIRD!!! A bit windy, but not a cloud in sight, and as I got up the mountain, I realised that I apart from the three odd hours I got in at Falls Creek with Greg Lorri and Nick in July, I hadn't ridden at ALL this season - and there are T bars EVERYWHERE - Im crap on Tbars, and proceeded to fall off the first one I tried.

I have to wrap this up as my flights been called, but to cut things short, I had an awesome days riding at Whakapapa, left my snowboard boots in the ski club, and realised this only when I got to Auckland (4 and a bit hours away!) had my guardian angel Cris having to getup to the ski club I was staying in, virtually break into the place, find my stinky boots and inners (imaging putting your handinto someones sweaty and odourous gym bag, ewwwwwww) sweet talk the bus driver to bring them back to me, which nearly didn't happen because the bus service "does not accept freight!" The mission was successful - what a way to start a world tour!!!

I flooded Di's garage(which also happens to be her office - yikes!) due to my dirty laundry, made friends with some juveniles (Di's kids - awesome girls), made a grown man blush, and overall saw a whole lot more of NZ than I thought I did. I made some amazing friends in the process, and am a little sad to be leaving. I don't think I've had enough time in Auckland yet, so I might jsut have to come back again. Thank you so much Di and Cris, if it wasnt for you two I don't know where I'd be. Probably still in Christchurch!!

Gotta go, will write properley when I get to LAX - I have a 3 hour stop over there, so a bit more time to kill. I hope Vergel remembers Im coming to stay, hehe.

please pass this onto the kids that I've missed, team Sapphire and Select :)

Much love to you all, haere ra,

Lauz xoxo

So. Here's my blog.

2008-01-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Ive decided to post all of my emails onto this blogger so I have somewhere to store them forever and ever and ever....