Snow Angels, Meerkats and Me

After what could generously be described as a "bleak" month of weather here in February, yours truly was more than ready for a vacation come March. So, I took up my sister on an offer to join her family for a ski trip to Lake Tahoe, CA. That's right, I flew nearly 2,000 miles to California for an opportunity to experience MORE snow. I figured that unlike Chicago, where the snow is something to be removed from my car, driven through on the way to work and generally not a source of fun, this was a chance for me to experience snow in a different light: On actual hills, as fresh powder, with skis on and surrounded by family having a good time. The fact that I hadn't skied since high school was immaterial.

I have to say, it was very surreal to start out a drive like we did from my sister's house in the Bay Area in relative warmth and end it in sub-freezing temperatures and snowy conditions. The snow piles on highway 80 East were several feet deep and literally covered the street signs. As frequently as it has snowed in Chicago this winter, we have not had nearly this much of the white stuff on the ground due to periodic warm ups and thawing. On the drive up we were about 15 miles from our destination (Truckee) in North Lake Tahoe when they stopped traffic on the highway due to a couple of spinouts ahead. Often they require snow tires or chains on tires through stretches of 80 in the winter, but fortunately this was not the case as my sister's BMW had neither. After over an hour parked on the highway chatting with my sister and entertaining my 2 year-old niece, Erica, we were once again on our way.

The resort where we stayed - Northstar at Tahoe - is a very nice, family-friendly place with plenty to do for skiers and non-skiers alike. Make no mistake though, this is a ski resort first and foremost. There are free shuttles that take you from the condo developments that ring the resort to a village area complete with shops, restaurants, bars and plenty of comfy outdoor seating. One of the non-skiing highlights for my nieces (and no doubt my sister and brother-in-law, since it killed over an hour before dinner) was an area overlooking the skating rink where they bounced up and down on a trampoline with bungee cords attached to each arm. Who knew that paying a mere $12 to jump up and down for 10 minutes could bring such joy to a child?

Now to answer the question I'm sure you've all been wondering since I mentioned that I hadn't skied since high school. Yes, I fell down. Many times actually. I am proud to say, however, that I did not have any high speed wipeouts of the "Agony of Defeat" variety from the old ABC "Wide World of Sports" intro, nor did I once fall when getting off the chairlift. When I went down it was either at slow speed or while trying to stop, which proved quite challenging given my glaring lack of appropriate technique. I kept myself to either the green (easy) or blue (more difficult) trails, doing some runs by myself, some with my brother-in-law and a handful with my nieces Caroline and Meredith when they weren't taking ski lessons. The skiers share the trails with the snowboarders, and honestly the fact that I didn't collide with anyone over the two days was a minor miracle.

Let me just say that the views from Mt. Pluto, the summit at 8,610 feet, were breathtaking. I wasn't able to get photos but include one from the resort's web site at the top of this post. When not barreling down from said summit like a runaway freight train, I was able to show Erica how to do snow angels and learned from Caroline what a meerkat is by watching a DVD of the Animal Planet show "Meerkat Manor." It was good to know that Sean Astin, the narrator of the show, is still getting work post "Lord of the Rings." I also had what I am pretty sure is my first ever snowball fight with the girls, seeing that they live in California and all. Anyway, good times were had by all and I can't wait to get back on the slopes again. After a few ski lessons, of course.

Grant About Town

March 5, 2008
"Felt" at iO Chicago

Though it is the shortest month of the year even in a leap year, it was a long, hard February in Chicago as usual. Nothing is more demoralizing than the one-two punch of snow and cold, and that has unfortunately been my world for the last month or so. We very nearly set a record for the total amount of snow here in the month of February, despite the fact that we had no major storms. By major, I am talking about a foot or more at one time. It was 2-3 inches here, 4-6 inches there and it seemed like snow was on the ground all month. As I said to my buddy and fellow blogger Greg recently, the last month's weather was kind of like bleeding someone to death to maximize the suffering. I'd like to think that the worst is behind us at this point, but having endured many winters in Chicago I know better. They have had snow on Cubs opening day in April, so we're not out of the woods yet.

Despite the dreary weather, I have actually been able to have some fun in between the stretches of hibernating at home, counting the days until spring and wondering when the sun would shine again. One such occasion was last night when I attended a truly original improv event called "Felt" at iO (formerly the Improv Olympic) in Wrigleyville with my friend Jessica. This was my second attempt to see the show, it having been canceled on short notice a couple of Wednesdays earlier (it only plays once a week) when I tried to go with some meetup group friends. However, I was not going to be denied this chance to brave the Chicago elements in the hope of watching puppets make me laugh.

That's right, "Felt" features a group of 9 puppets performing improvisation that is most definitely not family friendly in terms of the subject matter. On the iO website it says "This show may not be suitable for children" and having seen the show I can confirm that this is very accurate. The puppets curse, they talk about sex, they meet people online and have disastrous first dates. If you took The Muppets and crossed it with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog from Conan O'Brien's show, I imagine this would be the result. Some of the puppets look like real people/animals including my personal favorite, a dog who wears a button down oxford shirt that looks a lot like one I own. Some of the puppets looks like furry monsters out of a Disney movie (see picture at right).

For those of you that have seen humans doing improv before, there is not going to be anything revolutionary here in terms of either the method or the subject matter. However, in the entertainment world the saying goes that you never want to work with children or animals as they will always steal the show. Similarly, a scene that would just be average with human performers takes on whole new comedic dimensions when the participants are puppets with a limited range of motion and emotion. For instance, in one scene a dog puppet showed up to a restaurant for a first date with a girl he met online. She told him that he "doesn't look anything like his picture" after which he proceeded to grunt and then dry-hump her leg repeatedly. I didn't say this was highbrow stuff, but it is funny as hell.

The show concluded with a game of "freeze" between the puppets and human members of the all-girl improv group, Virgin Daquiri, that opened the night. For those of you unfamiliar with improv, the freeze game is when two people start a scene and then a third yells "freeze," takes the place of one of the people and initiates a new round of dialogue. As if watching a group of puppets do improv was not strange enough, watching a puppet do a scene with a human that ended with them making out was truly off the charts. If you live in Chicago or are ever visiting and looking for something to do on a Wednesday night, I highly recommend it.