Reality Check

It hit me this morning.

Was a function of numerous things. On their own, small things. Like furniture scattered throughout the house to accomodate for painting. A collectible plate breaking. A kid wetting the bed. Tripping over a sack of trash and falling knee-first into a doorway. Encountering unusually thick traffic (and thicker drivers) during the commute.

But when they all happen within minutes of each other, before 8 a.m., before you even arrive for the daily whipping that is work, it tends to sour your outlook on the day.

That's when I realized I didn't have the long-awaited ski trip to look forward to.

And what a trip it was.

Three full days of skiing, countless magnificent vistas, palatial accommodations, the best Super Bowl party ever, rehashed SNL goodness, a glorious bag of OBEY clothes, and a seemingly bottomless bag of apples.

Dudes, the trip was totally gnarly and filled with endorphin-firing moments.

Suffice it to say that, aside from my own work-related paranoia and our collective contribution to periodically shutting down various quad ski lifts, the trip was an absolute joy.

One of the remarkable characteristics of this trip was the lack of egos evident during the weekend -- especially given the collective successes of the group. It was a privilege to have been in such company.

Testimony to what Greg and I talked about as we soared toward a much flatter terrain last week -- that the most valuable thing we gained from our college experience was the relationships. Those relationships were most appreciated last week.

Great trip. Rack it. The DVD is coming.