Black Diamond

Since I didn't have classes today (or any Tuesday or Thursday), Joe and I went downhill skiing up at the Beav (aka Beaver Mountain) this morning. It was pretty chilly and my fingers froze but we had a good time...and next time I know to wear the new mittens I got for Christmas that are supposed to keep you ultra warm.

Now, I'm not a big downhill skier and have only been a handful of times, so I kind of like the bunny slopes and don't really push myself too much out of my comfort zone (just a little). Today Joe helped push me further by going down some intermediate trails. He would go first, I would see that he didn't get hurt, and then I would successfully carve my way down the slope. We also went one bit at a time so that I didn't get too overwhelmed and could brace myself for the next steep part. I think my form improved a bit more today too because I was in the up and down rhythm that I had just started getting at the end of when I skied last week. On our last run, I even did a small section that is labeled as a Black Diamond but wasn't really any harder than sections of the intermediate trails. So, yeah, I skied a Black Diamond (*puffs up chest and sticks thumbs in pants*). My goal is to have skied all of the Black Diamond trails by the end of the season that are not mogul fields. Although I would like to try a mogul field when there is a lot of fresh powder and I am more experienced...

We only did a couple hours of skiing so that I could get back to help man a table in the TSC (Taggart Student Center). The Newman club is raffling off an iPod Shuffle (that our College Bowl team won and didn't have an alternate to give it to). The money is going to the Sudan through Catholic Relief Services and we have already made at least a $100, which is about the price of the iPod. We're also trying to raise money for our spring break trip to Tacoma, Washington for Habitat for Humanity in addition to just raising funds for the Newman Club. We just found out the importance of having good finance records as no one had done it specifically for the Newman Club/Center in at least a year...so we're slightly in debt. Yet, we're still trying to pursue the spring break trip and raising money for it because it's something that's worth pushing for. Our goal is $2000 to cover building material costs, transportation (gas), and food. Hopefully we can reach it in the less than 2 months that we have and then focus more on raising money for the Newman Club. Any fund-raising ideas would be appreciated....