top-notch

lickety-split…yet another couple of months flew by. in all honesty…meh, who am i kidding, i don’t have any excuses this time around. laziness came knocking on my door. 😉
i have however provided you folks with two entries within a week, y’know to regain some momentum. 😀

frankly, i have no clue how or even where to start and outline my past months. let’s just take it from there, where the previous post ended, the makeshift accommodation business;

as i kept talking and dreaming about an apartment in canada i could call my home, i already laid my eyes on one. i managed to set up a few meetings with my now-landlords and by the blink of an eye i awoke in my canadian aparment. it is quite the experience for me as i do have my own kitchen, bathroom, living room, bed room and what not. even my very own mailbox, which took me a few weeks to get used to check on mail…haha. long story short, it has gotten homey.

just two weeks before i moved in, brittany and i embarked on another trip to vancouver over new year’s, which turned out to be un-frickin-real! 😀

strolling down the streets of van-city makes roaming the urban madness that much more enjoyable. like real canucks we got ourselves some ice skates and slid around at robson square. the centerpiece however – most certainly – were the fireworks down at the harbor were droves of people gathered around to kiss the 2011 good-bye and welcome 2012 with open arms and hearts, and so did brittany and i; gazing at the skyline adorned by the harbor, both colorfully lit up by pyrotechnicians…pretty darn sweet! 😀
prior to that, we stuffed our tummies at the keg, steak and chop house…culinary highlight guaranteed! our delectable menu for the both of us had deliciousness in store: medium prime rib, alaskan king crab, medium sirloin steak and delightful wine.

tryna accommodate all events here with this very article i carry on and just go off how prime skiing has been. again, we could get some nice turns in and had a blast ripping canada’s finest…skiing at ease, off the hook! 😀

as if one trip to vancouver wasn’t swell enough already, brittany and myself hit the road early in the morning on january 31 again for what was to be the ultimate highlight i’d been granted to witness…an nhl game live. not just any game day, naaah…east versus west, american versus canadian, the vancouver canucks against the chicago blackhawks. my chest pounding, next thing i know is standing up for the canadian anthem at rogers arena watching the crowd go berserk. fyi, nhl on tv might be the soothing remedy for a ‘fed-up-with-soccer-baloney lad’ like myself, on site it totally blows everything out of proportion. watching the sedin-twins and the rest of the gang blanking the blackhawks was uuunbelievably breathtaking. as i unwrapped brittany’s christmas gift those two words jumped on me…vancouver canucks. thank you, that totally rocked my socks off! 🙂

everyday reminiscing about our first nhl-stoke, i still don’t fully realize the fact that i may rightfully claim it; claim that i was there…straight up awesome!

albeit the past months have shaped up remarkably, i also live a normal life…meh, i don’t fancy that generic expression “normal”; i hit up the gym spinning and stuff, go to work, you name it. truth be told, work doesn’t feel like work here; that being such a demonized term, i simply love my job, i am grateful for every single day at work!

lastly, i frequently talk to my parents at home who keep me posted on what goes down back home in good ol’ austria. 🙂 they also updated me on the deal with kostelic and some of the austrian ski team; what on earth is it with this monkey-business!? who are we to talk down and “degrade” kostelic!? give that guy a break, he’s a darn good skier and even if he did make douchebaggery comments, so what, we all come with flaws…sorry but i think this whole nonsense is a lil over top and pathetic. kostelic go! and the rest of the athletes, go! 😉
oh and i’ve been told that austria lies under heavy blanket of snow…woot woot! 😀

other than that, i sometimes really do miss my folks at home. and yes i am insanely craving mom’s food, fresh bakeries and a good brewski; despite all that, canada does spoil me in return, best steaks, burgers and fries! 🙂

so long,
stay beautiful!

PeP

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close call

name’s peter, front desk agent and my passion is skiing, that’s what my name tag at work reads; and skiing it is.

right off the bat, i feel so well looked after and in good keeping, harnessed and tethered, privileged one could say. it is today, february 15 and my life’s 3rd anniversary. i don’t mean to sweet talk you here, personally, i just believe today is a sublime occasion and it calls for an entry. 🙂

a crystal clear bluebird day, 40cm of fresh blower and chilly temperatures, a prime day to head out riding. i’d been scouting this line for a couple of years, i knew exactly how to pull it off; i had my turns and the invert-cliff-drop on lock and was ready to throw down. things had been set up with my friend hari, who at that time, was below the cliff behind the video camera mounted on a tripod. he gave me a buzz, which was the designated signal for drop-in…and so i did.

not only was it a day perfect for slaying pow, but it was a day where plain stupidity, ignorance and irresponsibility coincided. the irony is that earlier that day i answered a phone call at work regarding group tickets for skiing and how conditions were in terms of off-piste skiing. i suggested them not to go out of bounds due the intensely precarious avalanche situation. 2 hours later i did what i told others not to do, just because i wanted to harvest the line…

it was the ultimate pay-day, i strapped an tightened my full face helmet and geared up ready to drop in. i was fully armored the way a skier was ought to be, back protection, crash pants, full face helmet (came in handy!) and full avi-gear. mere metres were the decisive factor as I dropped off a little cornice over a roller and next thing i knew was the infamous “whoomb-sound” the snow-blanket creates when the tension between the layers of snow are overly stressed. a huge crack away from the tip of my right ski all the way through the rather steep slope i initially wanted to ski. instinctively, i set another turn to the left to find escape, turned out, it just positioned me to absorb the shock with my feet hitting the first tree and on to the next one, over cliffs, rocks, trees and what not. i don’t want to lose myself in details here, but i recall the trajectory the avalanche forced on me as if it was just yesterday, every single hit.

an avalanche to me much feels like a fast-flowing river carrying floes and you are the raft getting pushed around helplessly, far away from any power to control your path. truth be told, i waited for it to be over, the switch to be snapped. i found myself held back by trees and branches, which eventually stopped me tumbling down even farther. i sat there and all i heard was heavenly serenity, my jacket was all tangled up, i had a bracelet on my wrist that i watched rolling down my arm as i raised it, torn apart by the threatening force of what used to be white fluff. i knew i broke a rib, as my entire ribcage felt super instable. my pal hari desperately called my name looking for me, but i couldn’t answer as i was struggling to gasp for air. hari eventually helped me get up and my first question was where my skis were. hari’s response: fuck your skis! how are you holding up?

i’d never felt more innocent and relieved when i fell asleep at the hospital, knowing that other than a broken rib there was no damage done to my intestines and insides. i’d got ultra-sound, how cool is that! 😀 i wasn’t pregnant at the time. 😛

weeks after the accident, i increasingly struggled, psychologically, not so much the physical pain of an entirely bruised body (got me some neat pain-killaz 😉 ). not only did i ski irresponsibly putting my life at the verge of death, but i jeopardized my so close friend hari. i felt so guilty. nightmares and no appetite started to creep in. five weeks later, i went night skiing well recovered and it felt great, despite the fact that i was scared for the groomers to start moving, haha. 😉

oh brother, that was quite in-depth right there eh. i thought i’d share it to transmit at least a fraction of the feelings that tag along when making a stupid call such as mine.

down the line, my perception on skiing and my values started to shift. it was a bonding adventure for the both of us, hari and me. it fortified our friendship even more, i think. thanks buddy. 🙂

skiing can’t safe you, skiing can’t be your refuge (god is), skiing doesn’t cut it when shit hits the fan and skiing is most definitely no substitute for love, life, friends and family. i learnt this by hardship.

my name’s peter and my passion is skiing, it certainly is but i’ve learnt to look at it slightly differently. it is my passion i love to share with others and as i grow older i wanna see my kiddos skiing or enjoying whatever their passion might be. thus, there’s no point in me ruining myself and not being there for others when it matters, just because i’m hindered through reckless skiing.

thanks for reading and thanks to those who have hung in there with me. you rule!

stay free!
PeP

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the real deal

time flies, at warp speed these days. especially when so much joy and pleasure sprinkle ones life. yet another month or so has gone by, a month not particularly uneventful, weeks of experiences and a gazillion of impressions.

once on a quest for making a living here in canada, i have steadily established an ‘everyday life’; this might sound aggravating but let me tell you one thing, it ain’t. i have embraced everyday life and what it utterly comes down to is mere appreciation. i had been given a job, next thing i knew were interesting and challenging duties with a motley team as a sublime cohort. long story short, i seriously value my job and i am abundantly appreciative of being a part of a top-notch gang.
somewhat accustomed to the manners of sustaining livelihood here in canada, it just never gets tiring. here’s why:
in the previous entry i tried to delineate how i experience my life on the edge, with surprises at every turn. whether it’s finding somebody who loves playing canasta as much as i do – and we’re talking traveling halfway around the globe just to find someone who not only has heard of it but plays it. thank you :). or it might as well be the fact that brittany and i embarked on yet another prime trip to vancouver to get ourselves a real treat…mulled wine, glühwein (or as i/we refer to it: a guads gliahweidl) at van city downtown, that’s right kids. 😉

oddly enough, i do live an everyday life, yet i don’t. either way, i cherished every single moment i have been granted around here!

now, time to getcha stoke on;
along the way, a true gem has come to my knowledge, which would be revelstoke. revelstoke mountain resort aka revy has turned out to be my ultimate playground to let any skier’s dreams come true. some 200 clicks outside of kamloops in to the interior of british columbia, the revel-stoke is a little town, a hick town in a good way, located in the middle of nowhere. be that as it may, revelstoke is worth skiing for a day or two. i have been there quite a view times now and just recently discovered terrain entirely new to me. what is called the south bowl, diehard skiers and snowboarders throw down heavily, joyful to watch. i am privileged to ski the very terrain, recon, scout and scope my own – maybe creative, maybe not – lines and natural hits.
let me get you the gist of what a day at revy looks like:
a far cry from early birds, we get up as early as possible to hit up asap. next thing we know is skiing our butts off and having the time of our lives. after clocking in a full day riding we pack up and head out of town and back to the loops (kamloops). not to be neglected before leaving the stoke for a week or so, it has already turned into our tradition to swing by at the great white north. at first sight, a tacky, an almost worn down restaurant right outside revy. as far-fetched from enchanting it may appear, i strongly suggest to go and see for yourself why it has gotten to be a delightful tradition. best burgers in town full stop. good bunch of people, sublime service and the burgers…out of this world, hammering good! 😀 if you ever get the chance to travel through british columbia your route automatically takes you there, the great white north, killer flavor. your taste buds will thank you for it! 😉

wrapping things up here, a day at revy is the bees’ knees. if time and schedule play along and allow us to do an overnighter, we add an outdoor hot tub session while tossing back brews and to top off the day we hoist another one at ‘the last drop’. the last drop is the locals’ hub, a get-together featuring live gigs and a crazy crowd. 🙂

very well then, that ought to cover the past month of my life here in bc. since i have spent my days at a makeshift accommodation i am currently on a quest looking for an apartment. preferably on a long-term basis but i will cross that bridge when i come to it. a life on the edge, graciously guided by the good shepherd.

alrighty folks,
take care now and stay beautiful.

PeP

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one for the books

in a nutshell that’s what my life here in good ol’ canada has been like…one for the books. and this is the major reason (at least one of them 😉 ) why another month has passed without a blog entry. lame excuse, i know. 😉
sorry, i can’t help it but blogging may seem to be too much of a waste of time.

anywho, i herewith give you an insight of what has been going down here the past few weeks.
a daily routine such as shooting applications and preparation for interviews has kicked in, which eventually allowed me to clue into the canadian manners of doing business…interesting i must say. 🙂
that being said, i consider myself one lucky lad as i ultimately got hired by a hotel here in town as a front desk agent and night auditor. the position itself is probably pretty much self-explanatory, one part of my duties to be added here are all the reports i prepare for the management and balance numbers at the end of each day.

enough business talk, on to my rather leisurely designed lifestyle around my job-quest. brittany and i set off to experience two truly incredible trips, one headed up north to wells grey provincial park and trip #2 we opted for an all-time classic, the canadian rockies in banff, alberta and of course the best place on earth, british columbia.
first things first, yet again i gotta go off about how breathtakingly priceless the canadian wilderness is. being only a small single spec out there, wells grey provincial park offers countless trails, hikes and stellar cascades. us, brittany and i, being out there in fall had such a profound impact on me. it’s those moments when i turn from calm to super silent, simply because i’m awestruck by the beauty of the great outdoors. on trips like these i usually don’t talk a whole lot but fully dive in and soak up the size, serenity and beauty of nature. up in wells grey i found myself a place on earth i’ve always dreamed of ever since i was a wee little kid…an unbelievably stellar waterfall dropping in the middle of nowhere out in the woods. to top things off, that very waterfall had a cave in behind so you could walk behind the cascading water and discover a hideout being a massive cave…my childhoods dream waterfall and cave, a true hidden gem found in the country i’ve adored so much, all that’s left to say is Thank You!

next up, the aforementioned 2-days journey to banff national park in alberta; i don’t mean to toot my own horn here but it’d been the fourth time in canada’s first national park…it just never gets boring, there’s too much to discover. 😀 other than scouting and scoping lines (might ski those one day 😉 ) throughout the trip, brittany and i fully took advantage of the hikes, lakes, rivers, canyons and of course my beloved mountains. food also made up a delightful highlight such as the triple a sirloin steak along with the most delicious yam fries and a brew at wild bill’s saloon right in the centre of banff village…let me tell you one thing, go see that place, you won’t be turned down whatsoever! 🙂
as to the culinary enjoyment in banff, hilarious oddball waiters may also await you there. a scenic drive back through alberta and british columbia was the sublime finishing touch of visit #4 in banff.

i’d like to add some personal thoughts and perspectives to the time i’ve spent here in canada; it is absolutely mind-boggling what we human beings are given, the colors, shapes and forms of autumn time just as an example. i’ve been granted a top-notch experience during my stay of already two months. apart from all the hikes, walks and recon tours we have done so far made me realize yet again how privileged i must be to do all that awesome stuff…what a profound feeling to be in such good keeping! 🙂

it is however, a one of a kind journey as i can’t really plan anything in advance – despite the fact that planning is not necessarily my area of expertise – which makes the life here entirely different; a perhaps more descriptive way of putting it, is what i refer to as ‘living on the edge’. faith is the name of the game, not knowing what could possibly happen the very next day requires trust, faith and believe in HIM to guide you along and through all the stages ahead of you. 🙂
at least that is how i look at it and what has formed my perception is the amazingly sublime life i’ve been privileged to live.

very well then, that about sums it up, the past month has been covered i guess, except for one enriching incident, the weather has finally dished one out, it snowed the other day in kamloops which leads me to the confidence that there must be a somewhat decent base up at rogers pass, revelstoke and surrounding area. 😀 that’s more like it, only one more thing to say: heck ya…let’s go skiing!

so long my nearest and dearest, thanks for spending your time reading the lines, feel free to swing by again if you wish and ‘til then

stay beautiful and be blessed!
PeP

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more sq ft of awesomeness

gee-whiz…it’s been a while, actually ages since my last post here on my ‘oh so busy-blog’. 😉
truth of the matter is that i’m probably the laziest blogger alive; there’s just so many other things that i much rather prefer over a blog-devoted period of time.

anywhos, here it goes, the first entry after over a month and the first entry from beloved canada; as the aforementioned headline states, the country of more square feet of awesomeness, well it truly is.
it’s been a dream ever since i’d returned home after my two semesters abroad and i craved my way back to canada one day. the months at home were partially dedicated to my studies, which i successfully finished and the remaining (the major part) time went into conceiving plans for my way back to more sq ft of awesomeness, canada.

august was the month i thankfully received the letter of introduction from the canadian embassy in vienna. with the path being greenlighted i’d rightfully put my stoke on and started to get my things together, gathered all necessities and fully took in the last weeks left at home. set off on september 11, 2011, i safely found myself in the most incredible city, canuck city, that’s right…vancouver.
through the gracious act of my great friend brittany, i was well taken care off right away and we enjoyed the night and the next day in vancouver. delightful food, a rose wine and vancouver’s coal harbor, what else could one wish for on the first day back!

the very next day we left for the loops (kamloops, bc) and after a mellow ride there, brittany, a bunch of friends of hers and myself celebrated britt’s birthday.
now, ever since my first day back in canada i’ve just felt so warmly welcomed and it’s been a prime time here so far. back in the loops, i’ve been taking care of business i.e. banking, cell phone, social security number, etc. other than that i’ve ambitiously applied for a fair share of jobs here and there and everywhere. with a job being a major reason for being in canada, i simply wanna give it a try to start up a new chapter in my GOD-blessed life.

apart from the somewhat businessy part of life dissecting canada’s job platforms, i’ve enjoyed canada’s bright side such as hikes up at paul lake or rogers pass or an epic wine tour in naramata, bc. the gaps in between those top-notch events have been bridged with gym, meeting people and utterly enjoying life.

that being all said now, i’m set to go see a hockey game downtown, the blazers facing the victoria royals…gosh do I ever love this country and its national sport. 😀
wrapping up such a lengthy post: big rigs, gigantic pick-up trucks (awe yeah 😀 ), most beautiful scenery and such enriching, supportive and unreal people…good to be back in the country of more square feet of awesomeness, thank you canada and most certainly thank you my LORD and SAVIOR for guiding me through and along my path.

here goes a shout-out to my cuz in india, let it rip over there n take all you can this wonderful country has to offer, cheers gergi. 😉

and to all those who read (or not) my blog, thanks for dropping by, be blessed and stay free. i’ll give you heads up asap or rather whenever i have an inspiring moment in time to overstep my blog-laziness’ authority.

so long,
cheers PeP

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care much

hey, what up?!

the past couple weeks have turned out to be un-freaking-real, mountain biking, hiking, slacklining, laying low at the lake, …

bottom line: fairly outdoorsy. 🙂
however, another, immensely helpful period of time terminated yesterday: my physiotherapy.
due to constant pressure and the rather extreme conditions of skiing my spine asked for redemption.
i looked up a doctor where i got x-rayed and the symptoms turned out to be the payback of exposing my spine the ordeal of charging it hard on skis: spinal disc herniation. ouch!

to make a long story short, i’d seen a physiotherapist who took care of my spine. after four weeks of super mellow treatment i recovered well, considering the stinging pain in the (not ass 😉 ) but lower spine.
not only did my spine recover, but i myself mentally recovered too, mentally as in i learnt a lesson. i already suffered a severe accident a couple years ago but frankly i had no idea of what life and health really meant. now, well i don’t know any more than you do but what i now know is that i was given a body, a mind and health…what a precious gift!

my physiotherapist taught me all the elements of a spine and the general skeleton of the human being. gosh, if our body isn’t a miracle i don’t know what is. every single element, every single bone and cell has to function accordingly to be able (allowed) to live. often some people withstand horrid deseases and some people stay healthy. i’ve been richly blessed throughout my life and i want to thank the good LORD for that. i just don’t take it for granted any longer. i get up in the morning and i am able to walk; i am super appreciative of that.

the physiotherapy may have ended, not so my mental and believe/trust therapy, coz that is an onging process.
i do my daily training and exercises and of course i give praise and gratitude.

be safe ya all n thx for dropping by eh. 
blessings PeP

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finally airing.

hey ya all out there…welcome aboard my blog.
it took me ages to accomplish the mission “start up a blog”. well, i made it and i am pretty jazzed on it, hope you folks are too. 😉

first off, this blog may be another crap trashing the world wide web, yup. it may also refer to some thoughts, ideas, believes of a person who is thrilled to share these very things. why shooting those kinda things online…good question. i think i just wanna spread to good side of life, i wanna participate in NOT screwing up minds like most of the crap online does it already anyway…

for some this might be exactly what i do here with my blog…trashing the web. sorry if i do.
for those of you who want to share the bright side of life with me, cum on and join in. give me some of your stories, experiences, thoughts, values, beliefs, … you name it. feel free to drop me a line. 🙂

as of my blog setup: it’s actually quite simple –> ease of use, you know. you may find six subsectors, showcasing a bunch of (hopefully) interesting stuff. flick through them n see for yourself.
the blog is ought to be some sort of a diary (i dislike writing, plus i am way too lazy…however i’ll give it a shot.), which tells something about my life; the way i see it, my values and beliefs in terms of skiing, nature, world, people…let’s call it any kinds of topics.

speaking of which, i truly believe that life’s a gift and we should live it up as such. there’s such a mainstream saying i’m already fed up with but nevertheless has some deeper meaning: “live every day as if it was your last.” cutting a long story short, the great LORD has given me my life to walk along the path HE’s prepared for me and i devoted my life to follow him and i already had some fairly decent experiences, both good and bad. the good word is to be spread and i wanna thank the good LORD for everything HE’s blessed my life with, being: friends, family and the privilege to live. thank you!

anyhow, nuff with the chit-chat, go ahead and explore the site. thanks for even stopping by. most appreciated. 🙂
would be happy for some returns if you wish to do so, so long folks

cheers n be blessed.

PeP

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