Everything DirectBuy

I just got back from Orlando Florida recently! Spent 11/17th to 11/20th there. I always feel like I am tempting fate every time I get in a plane. As I look out the window and see the ground thousands of feet below I know that humans are not supposed to be there drinking and eating snacks. So I am always glad to be back on the ground.

When we got to Orlando after flying flying 8-9 hours, we went straight to the hotel our company put us up in...

"The Gaylord Palms". It was a nice place. the whole hotel was set up to welcome us for the big DirectBuy convention. Everything was "DirectBuy" Flags and banners, projected lights and logos. No expense spared.



It really gave me a good idea of just how big DirectBuy is now. We recently hit the "worth over a billion dollars" mark as a company. However out here in Oregon it still feels comfortable and personal at our centers. Thats because our owners are great and really take care of us. We also have a great staff and very little turn over.

More about the hotel: It was huge, and out in the middle of nowhere. So we didn't really get to see all that much of Orlando. The food was good and I felt a little under dressed the whole time. I kept thinking "This place is for rich people, and I'm just a poser. But I still had a good time. I had to share a room with my co-worker Damien. He snores. I had a hard time sleeping and since I was 3 hours in the future I had to get up way to early for the presentations.

At the convention we get to listen to motivational speakers that touched on a lot of subjects: Attitude, the corporate business plan, customer service, and everything else you could possible imagine. Some of it was very boring, other times it gave me a lot to think about. They also gave out awards. The first photo below is Clay my boss getting an award for something.



In these photos you can see Damien, Clay, His wife Raylene, and Jeff. That was the extent of our party. I wish we could have taken some more staff. I wish I also could have taken Marni. It was lonely without her.

I don't wanna go on for too long so I'm just gonna post a few more photos.

Closing notes... Florida is to hot and sticky for me. The water is awful and nobody understand what good coffee is. I like colder places with a little more to look at. Florida was very flat. I could post a bunch of photos I took on the way back to the airport, but they would all look the same.

Since I have been back Marni and I went snowboarding! The season just started. Give me a few days and I will post some photos of our last trip! Case-

The Very End -0- Season

So this is what Mt. Hood looks like at the very end of Oct. We are still waiting for the fresh snow. It should be here anytime. But lately it looks more like we will have a late season this year.

That doesn't mean you can't still go snowboarding. I went up there last Sunday (10/28/07). I wasn't sure what to expect. Only 45mins before the lifts opened I was able to get front row parking. The place was pretty empty and I thought there would be more snow. I was also a little apprehensive because I knew there would be no terrain park. What fun is snowboarding if you can't throw yourself off a jump or two? But after driving an hour and a half I decided to go for it anyway.

Half the Palmer snowfield was closed off. Rocks were sticking up everywhere. After our last snow storm we got a wind storm that peppered all the new snow with dirt. Nothing looked that great. But so far I have never been disappointed with a trip up to Timberline.

After taking a few turns I got to the 2nd half of the Plamer. It was little more than a canyon trail leading back to the lift and much to my surprise nature made its own terrain park! A really incredible snow wall! I missed it on the ride up. It wasn't until I was sliding past it that I realized how much fun could be had. Everyone else had the same idea. The photos do not do it justice. It was much larger than it looks, and the angles were sharp.

So hours of fun were had, and I completely exhausted myself. Everyone there was really mellow and having a great time. It was nice not to be around a bunch of snobby pros trying to work on their demo videos.

By the end of the day the temperature heated up and the snow got soft and wet. The drop off of the snow wall was really eaten up providing an opportunity to try out more extreme drops into softer snow. I had some pretty good wipe outs. Someone lost control and ran into me but was able to walk away laughing. I posted the video on youtube.
Click here to Watch Video!

Part of me wants to run up there this weekend, but I think I will wait for some fresh snow. I really wanna take Marni up with me, but she needs less rocks and more open space. I get tired of going alone all the time. We have a ski and snowboard expo in town this weekend anyway. Its should be a lot of fun checking out all the latest cool gear. Its gonna be hard not to buy anything! -Case...

The Last Warm Days...

The last several days in Portland Oregon have been pretty warm and its bumming me out. Just after we had that big snow storm up on Mt. Hood dumping "more snow than adverage" for the year it all starts melting away. The good news is Timberline is re-opening the Palmer snowfield for fall skiing. So Im gonna go up there this weekend and practice avoiding hidden rocks. :)

In other news the construction outside my window is still going strong. I have lived here for over 4 years now and have always really enjoyed the view of downtown and sw Portland. That is until earlier this year some jerks decided to build a 10 story building outside my front window. The noise won't stop and the project is projected to take over a year to complete. Forget about sleeping in. They start banging on things the moment the sun comes up. Recording anything with mics in the studio is impossible.

The good news is that this I believe is the last floor. So after they put the roof on that floor we should still have a decent view of the city. I might as well also get used to people looking into my living room as well. I'll have to put a sign in the window that says "I am watching you"! I think if we sit low enough on our couch we might not see the building, but even now I can see the top floor and there is still no roof. Oh well what can you do anyway. I'll stop complaining.

I still love my home, and I still have a good view of Mt. Hood. Maybe soon they will move that giant crane. (Click on any of these pictures to see the full size image.) All in all it would be really hard to find a nicer place to live. Marni and I would like to move into a house. More room would be nice. But I really wanna wait for the right place. I hate moving. But with all this construction its looking more inviting every day.
-Case...

Intro...

Ok, So here I am. Gonna start a blog so family and friends can keep up. See how it goes. This may be easier than writing individual letters!

If you know anything about me you probably know I'm big into snowboarding. So thats why this first post has a photo of Mt. Hood. It was taken 5/13/07 just after the season ended for Mt. Hood Meadows. Marni and I decided to start going to the Timberline ski area for some summer snowboarding. Its higher up on the Mt. than Meadows. We had a great summer up there and I was able to improve my snowboarding skills. The snow since melted, and the last time I was able to go was Aug. 31st but recently it started snowing again. I am hoping by the end of this month we will get some "turns" in on the slopes. Its hard not to be excited about such things. I know that I am not alone. Everyone up there feels the same way. That is why they are up there in the first place. Getting up at un-godly hours and treading through freezing temps says a lot about how you feel about the sport. Your into it, or your not.

So now with the 07/08 snowboarding season starting both Marni and I will get to try out our new skills in fresh snow. I'm wondering how crazy it will be up there the first opening month at Mt. Hood Meadows. I haven't had the chance to go a full season yet. I have to say I have really enjoyed summer snowboarding. Its a bit wet, but with the big blue skies and half empty slopes its well worth having to change your shorts.

Thats me going off one of the last good jumps of the summer left up at Timberline (8/31/07). Its a real drag having to hike back up the hill every time you hit a jump like that. There was no snow trail back to the lift. To get back you had to hike over moon like hills just to make it back to the main ski route. You don't get that sorta work out at a gym. I expect we will be whipped into really good shape by this time next year. That or I will die trying.

So now with our season passes in our hands we wait for a few feet of snow and almost a whole year of snowboarding. In the meantime I continue to work on my other passion (Bound in Oblivion) You will find a link to the site in the upper right side of this screen. -Case...