Ski-sensation at Mammoth
This year we decided to head for Mammoth again for skiing. While last year’s ski season was like a bad aftertaste after staying at Mammoth Mountain Inn, the slopes and snow at Mammoth is just unbeatable.
With Janine in daycare and Eon in ski school, we decided last year that it would be better for us to stay right at the foot of the slopes. We choose Mammoth Mountain Inn. The pictures were deceivingly clean and description was inviting. Little did we know. After 9 hours of driving (due 4 hours of to LA traffic), we finally arrived. The Lobby looked nice but once we head to our “suite” we were greeted with a smelly and stained carpet on the hallways. The elevated was in a similar state of neglect. The 2 bedroom “suite” with kitchen was an equal let-down. The sheets and curtains were worn and old-fashioned. The beds were squeaky… and my litany of not-so-great things about this place goes on and on. The only highlight was that it was on the slopes. But what is that worth if you go home exhausted from a day of skiing to a dump?
We decided to explore the village and found that Westin was at Mammoth. We looked around and decided that we have been…screwed!!
This year, we learned. We stayed at Westin and the brief gondola ride to the slopes was a breeze. Westin and their Heavnenly Beds was such a great upgrade from tawdry Mammoth Inn. This time around, I actually felt like it was vacation.
We ate, skied and went to the jacuzzi to soak our tired muscles. Everyday was a routine… in a nice way. It was Janine’s first year of ski lesson. It was a horror morning on the first day but somehow things worked out. Eon is out-skiing me but on our last day chickened out on a blue slope, fell and we had to make a trip down to the main lodge with the ski patrol. Eon was fine and back skiing soon after the ski patrol dropped us off at the bottom on the slopes.
I was up for more challenges and decided to cajole my littlest one to ride Chairlift 7 with me and Eon. She was fine on the lift but started freaking out as soon as we got off. She started crying and declaring that she was NOT going done the hill and “skiing was ugly.” After some threats of abandonment, we finally skied downhill. Call me a despot but that was actually quite fun.
Notes from the Balikbayan
We are home again after spending 2 weeks in my “home-country” which is defined in the Ebuna’s Dictionary as the place where you reached your maximum height. It will be almost two years since I left. My husband contended that I will be shocked.
Was I?
Not really but I certainly saw things in a different perspective. The humidity, dirty air and dusty surroundings were familiar. I didn’t mind eating rice three times a day but I must admit that I felt uncomfortably full most of the time. I had mango shake whenever it’s on the menu. I felt stuffed most of the time but eating monggo and tuyo, escabeche, sinigang na lechon was too irresistible.
So what took me by surprise?
Di laging masaya
What surprised me as soon as I landed and walked through the airport was that people aren’t as friendly and happy as I thought they were. Was it always like that? Have I been telling myself too often the cliche that Filipinos are happy people? How do you arrive at such generalizations? Have we been always characterized as such and how do we compare exactly to other races?
Yupi-yuping UP
I always though that my alma mater had character. It was an impressive campus for me (atleast 12 years ago). I recall that some of the ceilings at AS were broken. I particularly remember one room where the ceiling fan was dangerously hanging on to the ceiling. The fan was working but you might want to rethink sitting under it! I was awed by the size of the campus and I always regarded its brokendown state as “quaintness.” As I walk through SC in search for a cheap mananahi, I found myself wondering why UP looks the same or even worst. The SC was littered with posters and it looked the same. The UP theater looked like it had a gangrene. I didn’t get to look around more but what I saw depressed me. Why does our state university look like this? After all the countless malls sprouting like mushrooms all over Manila, the sight of my rundown alma mater is quite depressing.
Name change, Part 2
There’s less energy and time required when you opt to keep your maiden name.
It was wishful thinking to think that my I’m done and over with name changes. Travel, and name changes doesn’t really blend well together especially when you’re transitioning from maiden name to married name. My travel documents are still in my maiden name while my green card is in my married name. So when my husband books our flight to Germany under my maiden name, (you guess it right!) there’s bound to be some conflict. So now I need to amend my passport, my mileage card while applying for a visa (under my old or new name, who knows?)
Once, when I travelled under my maiden name but when asked for an ID I was unable to produce an ID that was still in my maiden name. I had to step aside and go though extra security measures. Meaning: taking of my shoes wasn’t enough, I had to empty my bag unceremoniously and I was “searched.” Because, this is America, a female security officer methodically run her hands through my body searching for items that will link me to a terrorist group. Pretty hysterical.
Almost 1.5 years after getting married, I still hesitate when asked to write my middle name. In the Philippines, your middle name is your maiden family name whereas in the US, it’s your “second name” (Michelle, in my case). I’m sure, I’ve used both one time or the other and that is bound to hunt me down for “Name Change, Part 3″
One Year Milestone
April 2006 marked my first year here in the US. It’s amazing how fast time fleets. In the past year, I’ve become a wife, a mother of three (before of 2) and a full-pledged (uh) domestic manager. I learned how to ski and love it. I now cook more than 2 dishes (my last count is 7 dishes — up by 5!!!)
On the otherhand, I still don’t water my husband’s plants. I still don’t have my California driver’s license. I’m still in unemployment street (and getting restless).
Our kids surpassed their own milestones too as Eon learned how to speak English, bike without training wheels and swim. Although alongside Janine, he still needs to learn how to listen. (He has somehow managed to learn how not to hear things he doesn’t want to hear.) Yanice left grade school for middle school and progressed to an A-student! Janine learned to walk, talk, sing and discovered the joys of baby dolls, Barney and TV.
I treasure this year for so many wonderful reasons. I enjoyed the time I have with my children and family. I learned how necessary patience is and how despite the wonders of motherhood I still need occassional breaks. It’s been a trying and exciting year.
I’ve been considerably challenged in terms of my ability to handle stress (read as, times when my husband travels) and stay calm (read as, why do my kids hang on my legs and start talking each time I’m on the phone?)
We’re also making a very big leap as we move to warm San Diego. It will be a fresh start for my husband and me. I look forward to the changes, challenges and renovations.
(walk)ing in the winter wonderland
I’m not a big fan of cold weather so when went to Big Sky, Montana for our first ski vacation last January, I was skeptical about how cold-proofed I was. With layers of clothing consisting of long underwear, turtleneck sweater, ski jacket and pants, I still found myself (more than) occassionally shivering. I had morning sessions of ski lessons and the afternoons were spent skiing down the slopes with my husband who turned out to be a really good instructor. By the end of vacation, I was bruised from constantly falling on my ass and I was still not a big fan of cold weather, however, I found that I enjoy skiing a lot.
We headed to Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe for another ski adventure. Our daughter, Janine, who is fast approaching the “terrible two” stage has shown signs of uh-advancement and drove us nuts with her incessant crying. The drive to Tahoe included a quick stop at Helm of the Sun Valley where I rented my ski equipment. They couldn’t find the skis I rented a week earlier and it took 30 minutes for them to provide me a replacement which turned out to be really crappy and old. I went out and gave the equipment to my husband for loading and went back inside to complain about the delay. Then, my husband stormed in the shop to complain when he saw that they rented me a crappy and old pair of skis. We asked for refund and left the store in dismay.
With that drama behind us, typhoon Janine unleashed her bawling prowess and cried for the next hour. Usually, my stepdaughter Yanice takes care of turning on the movie, giving Janine toys or food but with her in Germany for the spring break, I had to struggle with the remote control, food bag and toy box myself. Eventually, I put Eon in-charge of food and toys. As we drove across the Sierra mountains, I watched the temperature gradually dropped to 3 degrees Fahrenheit!!
Heavenly was a huge ski area compared to Big Sky. Big Sky was the perfect place and time for me to learn skiing. It wasn’t crowded and the slopes (and lifts) weren’t very intimidating. At Heavenly, the lifts are fast-moving (except the Galaxy) and there are numerous blue runs. I had a shaky start as experienced skiers and snowboarders sped past me but as I grew accustommed to my skis, the “crowd” and the slopes, I was glad to be on snow again.
