royal wedding mania

to celebrate william and catherine's wedding, i pulled a page from us weekly's book and would like to show how royals are just like us...  and like the title of this blog.

prince william plays golf: 


(source:  bbc)

... and attempts to ski.

(source:  people magazine)

3 shades of panda

a couple of days ago, nicolas colsaerts became the first belgian in twenty-some-odd-years to win a european tour competition.  however, he had to go all the way to the far east to win; colsaerts won the 2011 volvo china open played in chengdu.  this was the photo shoot that followed:

proud panda, fist pumping for victory
-orientalism come to life - edward said is alive*-
(source:  getty images)

sad panda, wiping a tear from his eye
(source:  sportinglife.com)



oh-my-gosh-i-am-so-ticklish panda, rolling around on the grass
(source:  afp)


something that i am wondering:  was that tacky mandarin shirt completely necessary**?  i think that we all got the 'china' memo when we noticed the giant human-sized panda in every photo.

* i'm a poet and i didn't even know it.

**  mardarin shirt is the new green jacket?  who knows.

i am kt

each time the snow gods make it dump on squaw valley, you can find a small sedan parked in the 1st parking spot with this license plate:


recreated license plate*

named 'best chair lift in north america,' by skiing magazine**, kt-22*** is not only one of squaw's most famous lifts, but also offers some of the most difficult terrain the resort has to offer.  hence, all the warning signs:

just some caution signs welcoming skiers to the danger zone

since this has been my very first season on skis, there was no way that i was getting in that line.  the 'advanced only' sign was a good enough warning for me.  after 8th grade, it's no longer cool to have people sign your cast, or, have a cast, for that matter.  having gotten that memo, i was happy to stay classified as an 'intermmediate' or a 'beginner.'  that was until i got dropped off at ski school again this past saturday morning and met monica - mother to anika, who was on the olympic team with picabo street. 

and then, like the owner of the license plate, i became KT too.

but you can call me katie.

or christina.****

--
* sorry for the lack of authenticity! 'KT' wasn't there this weekend.

** ok, fine.  skiing magazine gave the lift this rating in 2004.  but, still!

*** the story of KT-22 is the story of sandy poulsen.  in 1948, she was the first person to 'ski' down the north face of this particularly steep peak at squaw.  although an expert skier at the time, she wasn't able to link her turns due to the difficulty of the terrain.  so, what did she do?  Kick Turns.  from the bottom of the mountain, her husband counted a total of 22 Kick Turns that it took for her to come down the slope.  and thus, KT-22 was born.

**** if you are conventional. 

oh tina...

i wanted to share a small excerpt from the praywer that tina fey wrote for her daughter that's part of her new book, bossypants.  while i assume that it was penned after william bulter yeat's prayer for his daughter, this version is about one hundred years younger and one hundred times more relevant.  have a read:

'lead her away from acting but not all the way to finance. 

something where she can make her own hours

but still feel intellectually fulfilled

and get outside sometimes

and not have to wear high heels.

no heels allowed at this party

what would that be, lord?  architecture?  midwifery? 

golf course design? 

i’m asking you, because if i knew, i’d be doing it, youdammit.'

- pebble beach -
 a special thanks to huffington post for letting me post this photo without permission



punchy, but maybe a little too close to home for those of us who would actually much rather be designing golf courses (or be on one, for that matter) than working in finance and wearing high heels.

three facts

a friendly little reminder

 - fact 1 -

at top speed, snails cover a mere 3 inches per minute. 

- fact 2 -

on sunday, two pesky snails played in front of us for 18 holes.

- fact 3 -

i took the below photo as evidence of their remarkable human costumes.  

away from the speed at which they moved 

(approximately 3 inches per minute), 

they were entirely indistinguishable from real-live humans!



two snails on the green (and i made an infinity sign)



just the two of us

--

course played:  san geronimo

holes played:  1 through 18

balls lost:  4

balls found:  5

 --


oh hey san geronimo, we came to check you out



lookin' good!


in the album 'big willie style,' the poet will smith once sang:

' just the two of us, we can make it if we try. 

just the two of us, building castles in the sky.

just the two of us, you and i. '

poet smith's words have recently come to encompass my feelings about playing golf...  and being matched up with random people.  although the game is meant to be social - and i love 'social' - nothing is worse than being forced to spend 4+ hours on the course with 2 other people whom you would like to punch in the face.  recent examples include:

weird guy:  he told everyone that his name was sandy pepper, after the color of his hair.  and he wore jeans.

hawaiian golfer pro chick:  she was not from hawaii but from the bay area.  however, when asked where she and her boyfriend (who was also playing with us) usually played, she insisted that 'hawaii' was her home course.  she also took it upon herself to give me golfing tips with abandon.  granted, i could use some pointers, but this was with far too much abandon, not enough self-control.

drunk guy:  he used antique wooden clubs and chugged coors light tall boys during the entire round.  the volume of his voice and the frequency of his 'jokes' increased with his level of intoxication.  luckily, he only made it 9 holes.

slow guy:   if snails could golf, they would have played faster than this guy, and they probably wouldn't have yelled at their ball after every shot.  not to mention, i out-drove him on more than one occasion.  so much judgement; too much time.

given the above experiences, it only makes sense that everytime elliot and i play golf by ourselves, my fingers are crossed, hoping that it is just the two of us.  sadly, usually it doesn't happen that way.  today, we tried a new course and got lucky. at san geronimo, i got to play my favorite way - just the two of us.



no weirdos, no strangers - everything is prettier when it's just the two of us

 

the masters: nyc edition

thanks to an invite to neel's birthday bash this past saturday in new york city, i didn't ski and didn't golf.  due to the abundance of festivities the prior evening (read: a 5 hour energy and ample 'raging'), i was left feeling less than stellar when sunday rolled around.  i found my way to augusta nonetheless; i lived vicariously through the pros and enjoyed the final round of the masters from the bed in the hotel room...

hi luke donald - did you call your caddy and did you guys decide to dress like twins?

...  in my new shoes.  that i got.  that are 100% inappropriate for my life in san francisco.  simply celebrating the fact that i felt horrible and that i was back in new york city.

tricked you with the cropping of the photos!  ha!

squawing with the big kids

for the last few months, everytime we go to squaw, i have been getting dropped off at the base of the mounatin promptly at 10am to be babysat by ski school instructors.  meanwhile, everyone else i know 'shreds the gnar' and acts extreme. 

something big happened the last time we went skiing.  remember that time when i accidentally started crying on the mountain?  6 lessons and approximately 1 million ski school line skips later, i finally conquered what was once my biggest fear - siberia.

now, i might be finally ready to do something with 'gnar'* with the big kids. 

and you, mac.  we will still shred gold coast together.

kilo and his lil cousin talbot skiing up a storm

* i still don't get what 'gnar' is.

es-pee-oh-are-tee!

question:  what says s-p-o-r-t and screams

golf! 

skiing! 

outdoors! 

california!

                                                       
answer:  the trunk of this car


inside our trunk this weekend  - sun AND snow


after playing some golf on friday, we packed the car and hit the road.  3.5 hours later, we were in lake tahoe ready to do some spring skiing.  only in california... 

for those that are on the fence, just move here already - yes, i am referring to you (cough. liz. emily.  neel.  cass. cough.)

this really happened:

--
course played:  presidio
holes played:  front 9
balls lost:  1
balls found:  7
--

nothing to see here - just a regular green at presidio - 4th hole, par 3


recently, san francisco has been getting some beautiful weather - sunny and mid-70s.  every san francis-can has warned me that this 'phenomemon' is only an 'anomoly' and has recommended that i take full advantage because apparently, 'this never happens.'  when in rome, do as the san francis-can do (makes sense to me) - on friday, i snuck out of work early and headed up to the golf course.

although, my game has been getting better, i am decades away from coming even close to elliot - literally, two decades away.  some of us only started playing a few months ago, while others (ehem! elliot), pretty much learned to walk (and ski) with clubs in their hands.  however, as the saying goes: 'even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.'

on the 4th hole par 3, i was that blind squirrel, and my tee shot was the nut people talk about.

 actually, not regular at all - please notice who is closer to the pin
{click on picture to enlarge} 

"cramped," is my style

--
course played:  claremont country club
holes played:  front 9
balls lost:  1
balls found:  2
--
i have a confession:  my golf game is being held back because noone makes cute golf clothes for girls.*

and yes, i have scoured the internet high and low in my search for some course-appropriate gear.  i have been hugely dissapointed and have come up (mostly) empty handed - thanks for making polos, polo.

here are some examples of what i have found:

thanks, but no thanks nike.  i JUST don't want to DO IT in these options.

thanks, but no thanks adidas.  All Day i don't Dream About Shants (SHort pANTS).

getting warmer, calloway.  i like the splash of color, but i 'd rather not wear board shorts.

my style is also majorly cramped by country club rules.  take claremont's golf dress code, for example:

"Men: Slacks, collared sport shirts - with tails tucked in-

(turtle neck and mock turtle neck shirts are acceptable),

sweaters and appropriate clothing for foul weather.

No shorts at any time.

Women: Slacks, knee length skirts or shorts,

collared or uncollared sport shirts,

long, short-sleeved blouses and collared sleeveless shirts.

No tank tops.

Appropriate clothing for foul weather."

whew, thank god mock turltenecks are ok for guys!  and uncollared sports shirts are ok for girls!  but, no tank tops?  i lose a lot of range of motion in constricting sport shirts!!!


* granted, my lack of practice might also be holding me back, but i think that could be easily remedied if i possessed the right gear.