All Day I Dream About Snowboarding

I was anxious, last Wednesday. On the long, ominous ride up to Hunter Mountain. Not unlike the opening credit sequence of The Shining:


The newbie tips being preemptively offered by my friends—and the flurry of jokes at my expense, about my imminent demise—were not easing my mind. All I could think about was Sonny Bono and Natasha Richardson. How stupid would I look if I actually died my first time snowboarding? Or, perhaps worse than death, what if I were to become paralyzed? Some injury I'd have to deal with the rest of my life...??

I never learned how to balance myself on a skateboard as a kid. Never was very confident on rollerblades as an adult. There was no reason for me to believe I'd be able to handle myself on a snowboard...

... which is what made it all the more of a surprise when I started to get the hang of it...

No doubt, I fell my share of the time, though not nearly as much as I'd anticipated, given all the warnings from friends. ("Be prepared to fall on yer ass for hours before it starts to click...") Toward the end of the day, I was really starting to get into it.

That night, safely back in the comfort of my room, as I drifted off to sleep I actually kept snowboarding in my head... the same way I used to visualize falling Tetris puzzle blocks back when I was obsessed with that game... snowboarding was just like a game, adjusting to the terrain and mastering your maneuvers... all I could think about was, When can I get back into that game...?

The last thing I need right now is a hobby that costs money. And yet, I just want to get back up there...