Happy New Year!

I hope you have a Happy New Year and wish you the best in 2008. Laura and I will be bringing in the new year with our close friends at the Levende Lounge in SF (http://www.levendesf.com/) over a five-course dinner, dancing and a champagne toast.

My advice for 2008 is:
"Work like you don’t need the money,
love like you’ve never been hurt,
and dance like no one is watching."
-- Satchel Paige
Cheers.

Power to the People

The people have spoken. It appears that I’m not writing enough for some people. I’ll do my best to post more often to this blog. But, it’ll be helpful if you'd let me know about a topic that you want to read about so that this blog remains fresh and interesting.

Also, please let me know if you want to be added to my mailing list. By being a member of my mailing list, you won’t miss a beat because you’ll be notified via email every time that I post to my blog. If there’s a service provided by Blogger that will automatically complete this task for me, then please bring it to my attention. Thanks in advance for your help.

Quite honestly, I’m humbled by the response of this blog. I never thought that my life would attract so much interest from a variety of people. As long as you keep reading (and leaving comments), I’ll keep blogging. Thanks for the support!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and find yourself around loved ones and spoiled with gifts. My sister and I will continue cooking up a feast for our parents, while drinking our holiday drink of choice, Dark and Stormies. This drink is light, refreshing and perfect for this time of year, as it’s made up of 1 part Meyer’s Dark Rum and 6 parts Reed's Jamaican-style ginger beer and served with a slice of lime over a couple of rocks.

Again, I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Comes a Few Days Early This Year

Through the help of my brothers, I was able to fix my external hard drive without sending it to the manufacturer. The solution was as simple as taking the drive apart and physically knocking the drive back into its correct position. This simple solution not only saved me hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, but it put my prized photos and music files safely back into my hands.

This week at home has been great so far. And, it’s not even Christmas! I’ve seen almost everyone that I hoped to see, ate all of the kinds of food that I hoped to eat, and visited old stomping grounds that I hoped to visit. The highlight of my trip thus far has to be the day trip that I made into the city with my Mom to see the holiday sights. The day took us to the following sites:
• Lunch at Little Poland Restaurant on the Lower East Side
• The Union Square Outdoor Holiday Market
• The Christmas tree and ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center
• The store-front windows of Saks Fifth Avenue
• St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• The Macy’s windows

You can click on the above photo to see my photo album from this day.

After five hours of pounding the pavement, I put my Mom on the Long Island Railroad and headed out to unwind in the city’s nightlife with my brothers, sister and sister-in-law. We treated ourselves to a great meal at ‘inoteca, which is a restaurant in the East Village that serves up tasty Italian small plates and delicious wines. Their best dish has to be their Truffle Egg Toast, which is an over-easy egg that’s served in a crispy baguette, drizzled in truffle oil and served over a bed of chopped “al dente” asparagus. Like most nights in the city, we set up camp at an Irish pub for a few night ending drinks. In all, it was a great visit to the city and time well-spent with the family.

The Story of the Day

My external hard drive just died on me. It was padded well in my check-in luggage and must've been irreversibly shakened en route to NY. Unfortunately, I've learn my lesson the hard way this time.

If you know of a reasonably priced data recovery service or tool, please leave me a comment. My Lacie hard drive is 250 GB and has 60-70 GB of stored data on it. At this point, the few data recovery services that I have talked to today have quoted me for $1,500-3,000, which I find humorous and ironic for a piece of hardware that's a tenth of the price. Just like my car accident, these shops are looking to make a small fortune on me.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The Photo of the Week

On my way home to NY for the holidays, I captured this photo of the ski resort while driving. The resort can be clearly picked out by looking at the peak directly above the on-coming truck and the two peaks to the left. (Note: You can click on the photo for a magnified view of it.) When looking at the photo, keep in mind that the resort is 2,500 acres in size, 4,139 feet tall, and has a summit at 10,450 feet.

A Time for Reflection

As I make my way home to NY for the holidays, it’s a great time to reflect on the past two-and-half weeks in Jackson. In the beginning, I packed my car to the brim and hauled it on a journey that was just shy of a thousand miles. Then, I met some cool and friendly people and one overly friendly deer. Along the way, I gained a good taste for the offerings of the town and the region. And, I refreshingly dove head first back into .NET software development. Best of all, I skied the last 12 of 14 days; this triumph alone instills goose bumps in me.

Yesterday was the best ski day of them all. It was the first powder day of the season and a treat for everyone on the hill, as most of the runs were covered in knee-deep powder. The lift lines were non-existent too. (Ahhh! The beauty of skiing at an amazing resort on a Thursday.) I skied with my new friend, Justin, who has lived in Jackson for the last 10 years. Not only was it great to be skiing with someone, but being led around the mountain to its secret stashes, as we made laps on the Thunder and Sublette chairs, made the day that much sweeter for me.

Slowly but surely, I’m getting used to the cold weather. The weather is a nice change from the consistent and predictable weather of the Bay Area. Some people might think I’m crazy for writing this statement, but I will say that the cold weather still seeps into my bones. Even though it's bone chilling, especially with a fierce head wind, there’s something about it that makes me feel alive. For example, it was hovering around five degrees with the windshield and flurrying for the better part of the day yesterday while skiing. You can see the aftermath in the photo.

Skiers are truly one of a kind. They willingly put themselves in danger of getting frost bite and even hypothermia so that they and their friends can bring excitement to their lives and experience together hair-raising thrills. Even though it can be painful and nerve-wracking at times, it's always good to be a skier!

The Photo of the Week

The trunk of a skier... From left to right, pictured is a ski jacket, an extra fleece blanket, duct taped-encased gloves (you wouldn't be a true skier if not one piece of your clothing had duct tape on it, right?), new Technica Diablo Magnesium ski boots, a Camelbak (with water, food and an extra layer), a North Face Blue Kazoo sleeping bag, a camera case and a trustworthy Leedom helmet. Now, I just need a set of jumper cables and a Red Cross Emergency Road Kit and I'll be set for whatever Mother Nature throws at me.

$3,027.12

Can you guess what this dollar amount bought me? I'll give you a second to ponder this question and come up with an answer.
...
...
Ok. Your second is up. The answer is:
* A new windshield
* A new front, driver-side fender with a painted finish
* A new front, driver-side door shell with a painted finish
* A sealant kit for the windshield
* A blended paint finish on my front bumper
* A blended paint finish on my existing rear, driver-side door shell

Thankfully, my insurance company, Geico, is picking up all of the bill, except for the $500 deductible. Given the situation, I'm happy with how things turned out and realize how it could've been much worse, as I could've been hurt and/or totaled my car. I just hope the deer is recovering happily at the fish and wildlife shelter.

Since I'll be leaving for NY on Friday for the holidays and the local body shop is scheduling work three weeks out from today, I've pleaded with them to replace my windshield before I hit the road for the Pocatello, ID airport and complete the rest of the body work when I return just after the new year. Let's keep our fingers crossed because this 140-mile drive each way could be more interesting than it needs to be for me.

My New Pad

For those of you dying to send me care packages, your day has finally arrived. My mailing address is:
John McMahon
P.O. Box 14722
Jackson, WY 83002
Feel free to send me anything that you think I might like, e.g. NY bagels, Chicago deep dish pizza, music, etc... Whatever it is, I won't complain. Trust me.

Since many of you are wondering what my new bachelor pad looks like, I've taken some pictures. Please click on the image to the right and expect to be redirected to a Picasa Web Album. By the way, if you don't have (or even know about) Google's Picasa software, you must download it. It's hands down the best free software tool out there for managing, optimizing and sharing photos.

Back to my new apartment... It's nothing fancy, but it's just right for what I need for this ski season. It's a two-bedroom apartment that's comfortable and comes with two parking spaces. (Parking in the Mission or the Lower Haight of SF was never this easy.) I'm sharing it with my good friend, Sean, who I know from working with at a ski shop on Long Island. The apartment's location is incredible, as it's walking distance from supermarkets, a movie store (note: there's just one in town) and the post office and an easy 20-minute drive to Jackson Hole Ski Resort.

You must be wondering, why is the drive to the ski resort so far? Well, Jackson is the closest town to the ski resort that has most of the things you need for every day life. Of course, there's Teton Village, which is at the base of the ski resort. But, this village doesn't have much to offer other than swanky hotels, private condos, ski shops and the Mangy Moose, which is a great bar.

The mountain received 8-10" last night, so I'm off to ski Day 6 of the season...

Opening Day and Then Some

It was a great feeling pulling into the parking lot of Jackson Hole Ski Resort on Saturday for the resort's Opening Day. I got there at the same time as the other crazies, who were also trying to get the first chair of the season. The first day of a ski season is always exciting for me, but to be at Jackson Hole, on opening day, and with a season pass in my pocket made it too good to be true.

It was nice to be back on skis and enjoying again all of the freedom that comes with this sport. I enjoyed myself so much that my first five runs were on the same run, Lower Werner, a green circle. It didn't matter where I was skiing; just being on skis was good enough for me.

The terrain on the mountain has been limited in the past three days (note: the photo to the left shows most of the open terrain at this point). Because the resort is so steep and rocky, it requires a fair amount of snow to make most parts of the mountain safe and skiable. Even though only 20% of the mountain has been open during this time, I honestly don't mind. It gives me the chance to figure out my new ski boots and re-familiarize myself with my ski technique on beginner and easy intermediate runs. Plus, you can always count on a few leg burning runs when you're not in ski shape and skiing around 7,000 feet.

I can't overstate how great the people of Wyoming have been to me so far. Everyone's so friendly and willing to lend a helping hand. For instance, a guy skiied out of his way today to help me after a wipeout. Not only did he retrieve my ski and ski down part of the slope with it, but he unlocked the binding before he handed the ski over to me. Another pleasant surprise was when I was in the supermarket the other day. My cashier attendant, who was a lady that must've been in her 70s (kudos to her), read the packaging of an item that was just swiped through the scanner and then pulled off and scanned the attached coupon. She didn't make a big deal of it or even say a word about giving me the discount.

It's these simple actions that I wish I experienced more often in every day life. I'm not sure if it has to do with small town life or mountain town life. Either way, it's nice.

The Photo of the Week

This photo is of the town square. In the foreground, there is an archway made out of real elk antlers. In the background, tall aspens and pines are decorated with Christmas lights in a soft blue.

For more information about the town square, please read here:
"In 1932, the local Rotary Club planted trees in the center of Jackson and constructed four picturesque arches made from hundreds of elk antlers in the 1950s and 60s. Today, the trees offer summertime shade and the arches, which are probably in the photo albums of almost every visitor who comes to Jackson, mark the corners of the Town Square. During the winter, when the arches and trees are blanketed with snow and decorated with lights, the Square takes on a festive atmosphere. A focal point for tourist activity in Jackson, the Square, which is surrounded by dozens of boardwalk-fronted art and photo galleries, bars, restaurants, factory outlets and gift shops, is in a prime location for the shopping savvy." - Courtesy of Jackson Hole Net.

"Welcome to Wyoming"

Once I arrived in Jackson, it was evident immediately that I was no longer in San Francisco. The first person that I crossed paths with greeted me warmly with a "Howdy." To which I replied, "How's it going!", and thought to myself, "I've arrived in cowboy country!"

Since stepping foot in town, I've been decompressing and enjoying time by myself. In the past few months, I didn't fully recognize how focused and stressed out I've been during this time. Putting myself in a smart position and making sure that everything worked out as planned has been draining on me. It was only until I got here that I felt a big relief and a load off of my shoulders. Now, I find myself often thinking, "I'm finally living the dream", with a big sigh.

Today, I received another warm introduction to mountain town life when a deer ran into my car. I was driving on the main town road, as this poor deer crossed two-lanes of traffic at just the right time that I never saw him and never had the chance to save him. It was so unexpected that I thought no one in their right mind would've expected something like this to happen during the daytime and on a road that had a steady stream of traffic in both directions. It didn't take very long to realize that I was wrong in my thinking. While talking with a Police officer over the accident report, he told me (and made me aware of) that "This is Wyoming. This kind of stuff happens all of the time... Welcome to Wyoming!"

Thankfully, I can drive my car to tomorrow's Opening Day at Jackson Hole Ski Resort. It's amazing to think of all that I've been through to make tomorrow a reality. Because of this long and winding road, I'll appreciate every moment. T - 14 hours to the first turns of the season...

The Road to Jackson

My adventure to live out a dream -- live in a ski town for a winter season -- has begun.

After fully packing my wagon yesterday, I made the trip to Jackson, WY from San Francisco, CA and pulled into my new apartment complex this morning at 5:30 am local time, or 4:30 am PST. It took 14.5 hours of constant driving to drive the 970 miles. Overall, the road trip was a good one, as the miles went by quickly, the weather cooperated with me, and there were few people on the road.

Along the way, I took notice of interesting events. They included:

• My Favorite Town Names:
• Contact, NV (I took note of this town name because this small town is literally in the middle of nowhere)
• Winnemucca, NV (How often do you think the town's people get asked for the spelling of it?)
• My Biggest Temptations:
• Playing a slot machine in Jackpot, NV, which is just south of the Idaho border
  
• Buying cheap (and legal) fireworks in Battle Mountain, NV
• Total Cost of Gas: $106.21
  
• No. of Stops: 4 (in the 14.5 hours!)
  
• Music Playlist: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors, David Bowie, Phish, Hot Chip, The Killers, Sigur Ros
• Missed Turns: 1 (the people just south of Twin Falls, ID failed me with their hard to read highway signs)
• Percentage of Dropped Calls: 66% (Thanks, Verizon)
• Best Roadtrip Feature: CRUISE CONTROL!
• Next Camping Trip Destination: Massacre Rocks State Park, ID (sign me up!)
• Things to Never Underestimate: Rolling tumbleweeds that unexpectedly attack your car at nighttime
• The Best Omen: Waking up in my new apartment to a snowstorm
  

It's been a long and great day. Stay tuned for more details.