The BEST SNOW on Earth --- Utah!

Ok, seriously, Utah?! Yeah, the "greatest snow on Earth." I wasn't sure how it is going to compare to the French Alps, such as Val d'Isere and Espace Killy, but, let me tell you, I was impressed! 2 friends, Michelle and Adam, and I warmed up at Brighton and then progressed to Snowbird and then Solitude. We snowboarded for 3 straight days and then wrapped it up with one day of cross country skiing at the Nordic Center at Solitude!


Snowbird is the hardest terrain I have ever snowboarded in... I wish I am better... I wish I can fly off the trail like a bird... I wish I can work the moguls... I wish I can telemark these trails...

Solitude really is solitude. There are less people here and the runs are wide and groomed. We spent a day here to our hearts' content and then another day at the Nordic Center learning how to cross country ski. So, learning the freedom of cross country ski, with the glide motion, and skiing on bent knees made me wanted to learn how to TELEMARK...


So, this is my next goal. I am gonna learn how to do this. This looks so cool and almost like flying... so free. If you want to see what I will be doing when I master this, here is the video (click on the pictures above to see some videos of it). Doesn't that looks so much fun?!

Here are some pictures of our trip:

My personal record: 11 thousand feet and 4 degrees F, on top of SNOWBIRD!

Thanks to Adam, who took these pictures...

My ride: Lib Tech Banana Technology with Magna Traction and some Burton Cartel bindings and boots.

Making snow angel on my 'pillow top feather snow bed'

'Hidden Peak' on top of SNOWBIRD: 11 thousand feet and 4 degrees!

Michelle and I taking the tram down after a long day, while Adam is shredding down some double diamond unmarked clift.

Learning and falling on the frozen lake... withe my cross country ski teacher, Bonnie.

Michelle and Adam skiing in style!

Racing into the village... come catch me if you can!

The signs says "Watch out for Moose," and here are some Moose tracks... I think we are close... I think its watching us!

All I have to say is: WE WILL BE BACK!

Juvenile Hall

Today i visited the juvenile facility in Ventura county. They house a few hundred deliquent kids there at one time. Most stay a few month, some stay 2 years. Kids who ended up there for many reasons, from skipping school, to drug possession, to stealing cars, to murder. Kids who visit there quite often pretty much get 'institutionalized'. They get everything done for them as long as they can obey the rules. They get work, school, 3 meals a day, recreational classes, shower, laundry, and visitation rights when they are in there..... Let me tell ya, that is a heck of a lot more than what a lot of them could muster up on their own. It is like a 'free lunch' every time they are in there... I don't see why they wouldn't want to come back, as long as they can put up with people telling them what to do and also living within the wired fenced walls and locked gates.

Now, ideally, we would like to rehab these kids to become contributing part of society and that they can make a living and pour back their monies back into our economy... instead of costing hard earned tax-payer dollars... but, if all these kids are getting seemed to 'institutionalize' them, they do eventually become a social burden.

What do we do?

Just learned i can mobile update my blog. This is a test.

What's new?

1. I just found a really cool website, you have to check it out. All the music is free!
http://www.takenoglory.com/ or takenoglory.blogspot.com

2. My new favorite movie is AVATAR - 3D. I want to fall in love again. I want to jump into that world. I am so overstimulated mentally, emotionally, and sensually. If you haven't seen the movie, my advice to you is: 1. don't look at any previews, trailers, or listen to other people talking about it, 2. go see it for yourself.

Dragon Fruit

Exotic fruit:
This is a dragon fruit... it grows out of a cactus like plant. My parents planted it a few years back and here is the first and only fruit this year! It looks like nothing I can describe on the outside, and the inside looks like a white Kiwi... tasted juicy with mild sweetness!

Here, have an ancient dragon fruit!

Look at the intricacy of its design!

1/1/10 What a beautiful sunset... looking out my window!

Happy New Years 2010 from Ventura, CA. Right outside my window. Here is the sun setting behind the Santa Cruz Island.

Snowboard trip to Snow Summit, and Acupuncturing my arm.

First free weekend on ICU... what shall we do guys? How about go snowboarding! Yay... that's what we did. Lorinc, Aaron, and I went to Snow Summit last weekend and snowboard/ski'd for 2 days. When we got there, we 'Night-Ski' the first night... it was beautiful, less people on the slope, clear view of the lake on the way down, and it wasn't even cold. The trails were a little icy but ok. Then we went back to the small cabin that we rented for a night. We hung out, ate, and watched a movie. The next day, we went out again and ski'd and snowboarded until about 2:30pm. It was a nice trip!




HOWEVER, unfortunately, for me, I fell pretty hard on one of the runs coming down. I hit a ditch and instead of landing on my neck and back, I stuck out my left arm and jammed it into the ice and way hyperextended it. My elbow hurt really bad. But, I had to finish the day snowboarding so after icing it for about 45min, I was back on the slope for 3 more runs. So, here are pictures 3 days after it happened and my acupuncture attempt to treat myself.

I used a surface energetic treatment called the TendinoMuscular Meridian. It require a "Ting point," a "gathering point," and lots of needles to focus the treatment. The ting point starts the flow of energe, the gathering point directs to where the energy flows, and the local points focus the healing energy of the needles and Qi. So my ting point is on my pinky (SI-1). Gathering point is on my head (GB-13), and lots of local needles surrounding the lesion on my elbow.

It didn't look any better the next day, but I believe that the healing is taking place. For those orthopedic minded, the medical evaluation I gave myself ruled-out fracture right after it happened. X ray negative for fractures. My diagnosis: muscle strain and likely a ligamentous tear of the posterior portion of the ulnar collateral ligament at the left medial epicondyle. Next step: Rest, Ice, Elevate, Ibuprofen, time (6 weeks) for recovery. In the mean time, ace bandage and ice to minimize swelling; ibuprofen for pain and inflammation; continue increase range of motion to speed up recovery.

Now, if you are suspecting a fracture or know there's a fracture, the management changes a little bit. Make sure you consult your doctor.