Ski Bumming

Sun Valley Idaho

My friend Michael Rogge posted this link today on his website. He works for Powder Magazine as a editor. Mike has lived the life I have always wanted to live. The life as a Ski Bum. Now before you panic and call me up to see if I have left for snow country, sit down, put your phone down, and relax. I'm not leaving college any time soon. I am loving college right now and have no plans to become a Ski Bum anytime soon. Even though I know I made the right decision of going to college and not taking a year off, the urge to drop everything and live in the mountains still rattles around my head from time to time. Seeing these photos brings these thoughts back to me. They make me realize the people in the photos were enjoying where they were in life. A place where their a less rules, less obligations, and time moves just a bit little slower.

As the world flies by you, always remember to take time to enjoy life. I already see my time in college flying by like it did at Taft. Hours blend into days. Days blend into weeks. Weeks blend into months. Months blend into years. Looking back on my time at Taft, I only regret one thing. The one thing I regret is the time I wasted either on the computer, or in my room while not exploring the world. I recall a quotation by Alan Lakein: Time is equal to life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.

This quotation is remarkably true with my generation. Their are many in my generation that would rather live their life on Facebook or on the internet than get to know their neighbor or go to a campus event. I will admit, I am the same way. I have to work up the courage every day to go out and be outgoing instead of taking the easy way out by staying in my room. My mother always would tell me, "You're just one of those people who can enjoy your own company." That might be true; however it doesn't mean it is a way to live. To bring this circle full circle, the people in the photos on the link below are enjoying life. Go out and do the same. Take the time out of busy day to slow down and enjoy the day. At the same time, realize the balance between work and play. If you are enjoying life as much as the people in the photos, then you're doing something right.

Link:

Old School Ski Bum

Note: If you would like to become a Ski Bum, the link below will open the Official Ski Bum’s

Guide. It is a PDF.

The Ski Bum's Guide

When society breaks down.

When society breaks down, our civil liberties become endangered. It is a fact that is repeated over and over again in our American history. From the concentration camps of Japanese American citizens during World War II to the illegal wiretapping under the Bush Administration, when we are in crisis, the American government time and time again tramples over our civil liberties. This is the same case in the book Zeitoun.

In Zeitoun, the main character is ripped away from his home and thrown into a make shift prison during Katrina. He was never charged with a crime, never read his rights, and never was presented with any contact to legal representation. These are all legal rights that are granted under the Constitution. The National Guard clearly ignored these rights during Hurricane Katrina. It is scary to think that anyone government agency with a gun can come into your home, and take you away to a prison camp for 40 days in a time of crisis. When reading the section on what happened to Zeitoun on the first day of his stay in the prison camp, it renewed my vigilance to keep a watchful eye on my government. If the National Guard can do that to Zeitoun, think what they can do to you.

On a funnier note, I posted below a a link on a "How to Survive a Breakdown of Social Order" This might be useful when 2012 comes around.

How to Survive a Breakdown of the Social Order