Things have been pretty quiet and I haven't worked on any projects since November. The week before Christmas I went to Minden, NV for some technical training for work. Minden is only about a forty minute drive from Lake Tahoe so I spent two days up there checking things out.
Having never been to that part of Nevada or California, I thought it was really pretty. They got about a foot of snow at Tahoe right before I went so I took my snowboard just in case Heavenly was open when I got there. The one day I got to ride, the gondola was closed due to high winds and only two runs were open (also due to high wind), and the lift ticket was still$60. After a little quick math in my head I figured I would save money as well as get a little exercise by spending the afternoon at Heavenly as opposed to sitting in the casino. Based on how much I lost the night before in a short amount of time I think I made the right decision.
Usually I like to go with someone I work with when I go to training. That way I have someone I know to work with in the class and do stuff with in the evenings. I was a little reluctant going by myself not ever having been there before. Things worked out great though (as they usually do) and one of the guys in the class (Aaron) works for Atlantic LNG in Trinidad (the island right next to Tobago) which happens to be a LNG plant that a bunch of guys I work with helped start up. So we hung out together most of the time. The oil and gas world is really quite small.
It was the first time Aaron had ever seen snow so we drove up to Lake Tahoe several times so he could take pictures and play in the snow. It's funny to think that here was a guy that hadn't seen snow until he was 29 and I can't remember a year of my life without it. Although I can't imagine life in a climate that never gets colder than probably 60 to 70 degrees either.
I flew home on December 20th and just barely made it through Seattle before they shut the airport down for three days. Which I was quite happy about.I decided to trade my 600 RMK (snowmachine) for this years 800 RMK. I've never really wanted an 800 but now that I have it I'd have a hard time going back. I picked it up the night I got home from Nevada and got sick the next day. I laid on the couch for a whole day and watched the snow fall on it. I ended up sick for three days and got over it just in time for a little fondue on Christmas eve. In eight days at home I only got to put 60 miles on my new sled before having to head back to work. It worked out ok though, we all had a nice quiet Christmas. For Christmas Dinner my Mom, TJ (and Aubrey), Rachelle, Sydney came over and Sandi's Mom was up from Wyoming. After my 28lb turkey for Thanksgiving I decided to start a new tradition for Christmas Dinner. I cooked blue cheese stuffed filet mignon and king crab with asparagus. And after recovering from overeating, I think it is a worthwhile tradition to continue.
The last week and a half have been really really cold and even if I were at home I wouldn't be riding so it isn't so bad being at work. It is supposed to start snowing again the first of next week so hopefully I'll get home to a couple of feet of new snow to play in. I have some pictures of Tahoe I'll post also but I forgot my camera at home.
I'll keep you posted.
1 comment:
Happy New Year Tyson. Glad to see you've put some stuff on your blog. I always check and it's fun to "hear" from you. I do hope you're feeling better. That was pretty nasty whatever it was. Christmas was really fun and I like your traditions of fondue and filet mignon and crab! The best! Love, Gran.
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