The Mystery of the TimBit Bandit

Well it’s about time that Marc gave us a free and open blog topic. For once I actually have an idea about what I want to write. I’m not usually very creative when it comes to this kind of writing, so usually it takes me a long time to come up with something.

I originally came up with this topic back during one of the first seminars. One of the presenting groups brought in a box of TimBits as prizes. The box made its way around the classroom and finally got to the east side where myself and a few other students were sitting. Upon getting the box in our hands, we notice there is a half eaten TimBit sitting inside the box. Who does this? It was one of those really gross ones so I don’t blame the person for not wanting to eat it, but come on, who puts the remaining half back in the box? When I noticed this, Marc had just been talking about how we would have a couple opportunities to write a blog without any guidance. Upon discovering the half eaten, chewed on TimBit, I knew that I would dedicate one of my blog entries to it.

I even went so far as to snap a picture of it with my camera phone for evidence (see the bottom of this entry). Now you’re probably thinking “That’s kind of weird, who cares enough about a half eaten TimBit enough to not only dedicate a blog entry to it, but to also take a picture of it?” Well it is pretty gross. Just ask Matt. I remember him being faced with a dilemma: The last chocolate glazed TimBit was resting against the half eaten morsel. Should he man up and eat it, despite it rubbing up against a half chewed on TimBit? Or should he pass it up and go without? I’ll let Matt tell you what he eventually chose to do. So there you have it. Either eat the entire TimBit or throw it out, don’t put it back in the box.

PS: If anyone knows who the guilty TimBit biter is, CALL THEM OUT ON IT!!

PSS: Actually don’t... I don’t want to embarrass anyone that bad....

Skiing - My True Passion

My first thoughts upon readingng the topic for this week’s blog were “hmm do I even have a passion?” After giving it some deep thought over a glass of wine (who drank all of the beer?), I realised that I do in fact have a number of passions. At first I thought about my love of automobiles... I’ve owned a wide variety of cars, trucks, SUV’s and even a street bike. I also thought about my love for wakeboarding. There’s definitely nothing as relaxing as spending a lazy summer day out on the lake with a group of friends. Golf is another sport that consumes a fair portion of my free time. However the one activity that I truly have a passion for is skiing. It all started back when I was in elementary school. My family had planned a weekend down in Spokane, however it started snowing heavily on Friday morning, the day we were supposed to leave. So rather than risk driving through the storm, my parents decided to take my brother and I up to Apex for a weekend of skiing. At that point I was hooked. Pretty much every weekend from that point on I spent at the hill learning the art of the perfect carve, the ability to rip a zipper line of moguls, even got into (attempting) inverted airs (I’m too old to be doing that stuff now). I spent a few years in competitive skiing, however my true passion is being able to ski what I want, when I want.

Skiing is unique in a variety of ways. One of the things I love most about it is being outdoors. No motors, no concrete jungle, just snow and trees. Another aspect of skiing that is great is that it can be done either solo or in a group. Sometimes I like to take a few hours to myself and ski by myself, taking a rare opportunity to be alone and clear my head. Other times I ride with a bunch of friends, giving each other a hard time over the nasty crashes and complimenting on a perfect run.

I let others know about my passion in a variety of ways. I always love to talk skiing, whether it’s about the latest technologies available in gear or which resort just got a massive dump over the weekend. When I’m able to make free time, I also try to volunteer at my local mountain (Apex) with events, however during the last couple years it’s been pretty tough to make the time as school has been fairly demanding. Whenever a friend or colleague expresses interesting in getting into the sport, I always try to encourage them and even give them some of my old gear if it will fit. I must admit that this year I’ve been fairly busy with school and so far only managed to log about 15 ski days so far, however I plan to get in another 7 or 8 over reading break. If anyone plans on riding up at Apex at all this reading break give me a shout, as I I’ll be spending most of my time up at the hill.