Skiing! March 1

Skiing

I pop off my skis, pick them up, and put them together. I step up to the sign, which reads Long Shot, open. This is the only slope on the whole mountain that is not accessible by lift. Instead, you have to take a hike up a short, but steep mountain, in ski boots, while carrying skis. Although this hike is hard, the slope is worth it, especially today, when there is fresh powder. Nobody ever skis Long Shot, so it has some of the best conditions on the mountain. I start hiking up. This isn't that bad, I think when I'm about a third of the way up. Then it gets steeper. At halfway up I start to get out of breath. I slow down my pace. I feel like I'm about to collapse when I reach the top. It flattens out, and I can get an incredible view of the mountains. I pop on my skis, and slide into the powdery bliss that lies in front of me.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93751689@N04/9110571424">Liberty Ridge Mt Rainier</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

The Fault in our Stars

The Fault in our Stars 
Hazel is a sixteen year old cancer patient who is depressed, which she calls a side effect of dying. because of this, her parents send her to a cancer support group, where she meets Augustus Waters. He had already had cancer, and lost a leg to it. They become extremely good friends.

I liked this book. Although I did not especially like the plot line, the writing style made up for it, and it was hard to put this book down. The characters were extremely likable, although I could not relate to them because as far as I know, I am cancer free. At some points, this book was sad, but it was not too sad. I would recommend this book to people who liked Wonder and Out of my Mind.

Prediction of the Future

Prediction of the Future "Turn temperature controls off" I say into the wall.
"Temperature controls off" It responds, and I hear the ventilation ducts close. I say goodbye to my pet, a tame ocelot cub, and then jump out of the window on the 215th floor of the sapphire tower. I love the feeling of free fall. I wait until the very last second to deploy my wings, and then rocket off to the spaceport. Did I mention I'm going on vacation? I'm headed to Kepler 186f, a popular tourist destination, because of it's natural oxygen atmosphere, natural oceans, and really nice coral reefs and white sand beaches. Of course all of the plants and the fish and all the life there came with the humans, but life there took off because of the fertile soil and the fresh water. I land on the steps of the spaceport, and head in. I check my gate, and then head to security. Obviously, I am not carrying anything dangerous. I get to the gate just in time to board. I am escorted down a long set of stairs to the underground docks of the star ships. I am pointed to a black Osprey Starlines ship, capable of reaching 547 times the speed of light. As I walk up the stairs into it's hull, a flight attendant tells me it will be a five hour flight, spending two hours with the warp drive activated. The interior is pretty nice, and with this vacation being paid for by the company I work for, I get a first class seat on the bottom of the star ship, where I will be able to see the earth when we ascend, and Kepler 186f when we descend. The door of the star ship closes, and the cabin pressurizes. The fusion core of the star ship fires, and little nuclear jets on the bottom of the hull fire, lifting us up. There is a jet right under my window, and I can faintly make out it's blue glow. When we leave the atmosphere, the massive nuclear jet at the back of the star ship fires, pushing us to earth escape velocity. Right as we leave, I see an orbital colony pass by, spinning quickly. Our route takes us by Mars, and I see the red planet right as the announcement is made that we are heading in to warp speed. The warp drive fires, and I see space around me start to bend. I do not feel any acceleration, but I still know that I am now hurtling towards my destination at faster then the speed of light.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24662369@N07/4426654941">NASA Blue Marble 2007 West</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

Jepp who defied the stars

Jepp who defied the stars Jepp is a dwarf who is sent in to the palace to entertain the court. He enjoys the life at first, but then starts to think they are being mistreated. He escapes, and is captured by a carriage that leads him to his new life, living with an astronomer. I did not really like this book. I could not really relate to the characters, and it was not a page turner. This was going to be a two week book for me, but I decided to read something else this week. This book might appeal to historical fiction fans, so if you enjoy historical fiction you could at least try it.

Skiing

Skiing I ski up to the sign. It reads KT Gully: This is completely natural ungroomed terrain. Ski with caution.   It is recommended to bring a GPS enabled device to help rescuers find you in the event of an emergency. My parents ask if I thought it was a good idea to go down it. Sarah and I both responded "Definitely".  I skied under the sign. It was pretty flat for maybe fifty feet, and then dropped off, with a steep face full of five foot tall moguls and patches of ice right underneath them. Sarah went first, cautiously turning around the moguls. I went next, slowly at first, and speeding up when it started to flatten out. In a few minutes, I had finished the first face. I sat down next to Sarah and watched my parents ski down. We were talking about our cat, who was having surgery that day, when we saw snowballs start rolling down the hill. We then watched our dad fall, and slide about ten feet down the mountain when he tried to stand up. His skis popped off and my mom had to get them for him. Sarah and I started laughing and had a hard time stopping until we continued down the slope.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40203425@N05/6772871131">Powder Day - 1.27.12</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>

Through the Woods

Through the Woods
Through the Woods is a graphic novel with five short stories, that are all creepy in some way or another. The stories varied in length, and some were very long, and some were short. They also varied in scariness, with one not being that scary or creepy, and one that was pretty creepy. They were all very good and enjoyable. This book was extremely short, which was kind of disappointing because it was really good. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes creepy things, or for someone who likes graphic novels. Because this book is not that long, it would make a good book for a week when you are extremely busy. This book would be good for ages ten and up, because it is not that hard of a read, and it does not have that many mature concepts.