Snowboading: My Unfortunate Tail(bone)

Yesterday, I tried snowboarding for the first time. The GSDO at Notre Dame took a large group of us to a ski lodge about 45 min away called Swiss Valley. We had the choice to either ski or snowboard. I choose snowboarding for two reasons.

1.) I felt I would have an easier time if I was locked into a frame and only had to concentrate on balancing rather than having to keep my skis straight, together, and balancing.
2.) Snowboarding looks so much cooler.

So we arrived. Michael also choose to snowboard and Anne choose to ski. We got our gear and headed to the bunny slope. It was definitely not what I pictured a bunny slope to be. I was hoping for a short, not too steep slope that I could use to get the hang of it before trying anything with speed. After about 10 min of figuring out how to strap on, I was ready to go.

I kinda managed to slide over the edge and pick up speed. At first, I felt pretty good. I didn't feel like I was off balance or anything and was thinking this isn't so bad when I started to spin. While I may be okay if I am just going straight, there is no way I can keep my balance on a spinning board. Sadly, I was going way faster than I should have been for my first time and so when I fell, it really hurt. I am not sure in what order I hit, but I know I hit my head really hard and my tailbone even harder. I also remember still sliding and spinning while flat on my back. I was in so much pain, but I forced myself to lift my head and wave to my friends up top. I was worried that if I hadn't moved they would have called the emergency staff and I didn't want that. Michael came down and helped me down the rest of the way.

Going up the slope was just as bad. The bunny slope used a rope to pull you up the hill. The only problem was you had to know how to stand on your board, so I ended up on my front. At this point, I just decided to climb the hill myself. My next two runs consisted of Michael holding my hands as I slid down the side of the slope. By this time, my backside was hurting so much I couldn't bend or twist which made doing anything really really painful. My foot was also bothering me.

Warning: If you don't like hearing about injuries skip to the next paragraph.
Back in high school I went to a youth convention and on the first night there, someone stomped on my foot and broke my right big toenail in half. The rest of the week involved miles of walking and by the end of the week was excruciating. When the nail finally healed I had to have part of it removed and the root killed because it was painfully ingrown. Sometimes, when I stub my toe or accidentally injure my foot, that nail acts up again. For the past couple of weeks it has been bothering me. So the very stiff and tight board boots caused lots of pain every time I put weight on my right foot.

So about one hour and three attempts, I gave up. Michael continued to pick up the sport and he and Anne eventually moved to the intermediate slope in order to use the ski lift. Since Michael couldn't steer, he would try to wait until the slope was mostly clear before going. However, numerous times people would stop halfway down to watch their friends, so he would be forced to fall down so he wouldn't crash into them.


While waiting at the top of the intermediate slope, a snowboarder made a spectacular fall as he was sliding off the lift. Then he came over and sat on the snow near me. After glancing over a couple of times he struck up conversation by telling me he had made too many face plants today for his own good. The conversation continues as follows:

Him: "So who are you here with?"

Me: "I came here with a bunch of friends."

Him: "Is one of them your boyfriend?"

Me: "Yes."

Him: "Never fails."

We continued to make awkward small talk until I had to go meet Anne and Michael coming off the lift. I wondered what would have happened if I had told him I didn't have a boyfriend.


Even though I really didn't have fun, I am not totally turned off of snowboarding, but if I do it again I would want
1.) lessons
2.) a helmet

I really don't like doing things where I can seriously injure myself without some instruction. I think next year the GSDO should set up some sort of lessons either official or unofficial since they are taking a bunch of first timers and it really isn't fun to be just left to your own devices.

Today, I am still very sore. I can't stand up by myself and I still cannot bend over, which makes doing anything very hard. I am hoping that a couple of days will erase all the painful memories from last night.

Chicago!

So the day before Valentine's Day, Anne, Michael, Nick and I ventured into the Windy City to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. We started out on the 9AM South Shore Line and took it all the way to the museum. The line to get tickets for MSI was amazingly long, but we were able to bypass it all by buying museum memberships. For a mere $80, I am able to get free admission, Omnimax tickets, and special exhibit tickets for myself and a friend. This time, the special exhibit was an inside look into the White House which featured a massive 1ft to 1in scale model. I don't have any pictures because, unlike the people in front of me, I respected the wishes of the exhibit owner and did not take any pictures. We checked out the Toymaker 3000, the coal mine, Genetics and Baby Chick hatchery, Imaging: The Tools of Science, Henry Crown Space Center, Petroleum Planet, The Great Train Story, You! The Experience, and still came nowhere near close to seeing everything the place had to offer.

After the museum, we rode the bus to Water Tower Place and rode the escalators up to the top floor just so we could ride the glass elevator all the way down again.

Dinner was a quick bite at Rock Bottom Grill. I had the most amazing soft pretzel with a spicy cheese sauce. After, we headed down to Millennium Park to kill time before our train left. We viewed the Cloud Gate and some very strange sculptures that feature the faces of Chicago residents which spit water at you in the summer. We watched some skating at the free rink in the park until a guy who I think wasn't quite all there started to take interest in me. After, we headed down to the train station only to find it was closed and so we had to set off on a hike to the next one down the line. The train ride home was spent either sleeping or fighting the urge to sleep. Even though we got in after midnight and did not get to bed until 1AM, it was a very good day. The train was nice because no one had to deal with driving home after such a long day.

Valentine's Day began with breakfast in bed (frosted doughnuts with sprinkles) and a vase with a rose trio. I also received some chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Factory and Dutch mints. Dinner plans to Outback were suspended until today since I had to spend the entire afternoon working on homework and was too tired to go out, but the day was a good one overall.

It may be Spring Semester, but all I see is snow!

So far, I have been enjoying my courses this semester since they haven't been as demanding as my fall classes were. If I get lucky, there might even be a class field trip for my Cardiovascular class. Dr. Sucosky is going to see if we can view an open heart surgery so that we can better understand what we are learning.

My research is starting to pick up. I have almost finished my flow loop and my lab computer should arrive any day. This semester, I need to program my flow loop and set up a LabView program to record pressure and flow rate data. Then, I will place an aortic valve into the loop and see if I can get the correct pressure and flow curves. I need data by May so that I can apply for a podium presentation at the BMES conference in October. Even though research has become more demanding, our lab still knows how to relax. On Friday afternoons, Dan, Ling, Andrew, Alex, Aifang, Dr. Sucosky, and I all head down to Legends and down a couple of drinks at Dr. Sucosky's expense.

On the weekends, I have been staying close to home since the weather has been cold and recently very snowy. Michael and I were at the mall on Saturday and witnessed the Mall Train. It is a little train that departs from the station in front of Macy's and, for a fee, will take you on a ride around the mall. It is a sight to watch all of the shoppers jump out of the way as it chugs through the mall. I also purchased some more furniture. The furniture line that my couch comes from was being discontinued and so I was able to get a really good deal on another sofa, loveseat, and chair.

Nova and Pandora are doing quite well. Pandora has finally stopped nipping for the most part and has even calmed down some. Nova has not been her lazy self and has taken to climbing up onto the new furniture to dig.



Coming up in the life of Clara:
1) Possible trip into Chicago this weekend
2) Valentine's Day - What will Michael have planned?
3) Ski/Snowboard trip - My first time to try either, which one should I do this trip?