mystery photo...

This here photo has been locked onto my desktop since the first year I had this computer... that makes it three years now! I don't ever recall looking up this geographical site. Luckily my long time roommate and friend Anna Segal informed me that it is an interesting rock/mountain in Australia... but we have no idea how it became locked up on Opal (my mac). 

It seems the mystery of "The Rock from Down Under," may never be solved but I would really love to get it off my mac! Does anyone know how to unlock files??

Monotonix

Last summer I was lucky enough to see a small live Monotonix show in Seattle, WA. I was reminded of these guys today. It was hands down the BEST rock show i have ever seen! This band is unpredictable and high strung. Beware of the PG13 sometimes R-Rated nature of their stage show, but check out their music. It is AMAZING!

A random train of thought...

Today I pondered the statement, "to live" and have concluded, that to truly live you must take chances. Making decisions not on careful thought and deliberation but on simply what you choose can be risky, yet this is part of truly living to me. 

To give an example, the lip piercing I got this spring. I have wanted it for 2 years and by carefully weighing out the pros and cons, decided against it. The cons outweighed the pros... or did they? 

The cons were: 1) My mom was super against the idea. 2) I was sure my grandma would be upset too. 3) It may scar my face. 4) It may not turn out like I wanted it to. 5) It may be dangerous or get in the way while skiing. 

And the pro was: 1) I wanted it and loved the idea of having a subtle sparkle on my face all the time.

So, I finally took the chance and have not once regretted it! I love my lip jewel (featured in photo below). Having a metal ring in my lip was cold on the mountain, and eating was challenging while it was healing but I discard these annoyances as minor because of how much I wanted my piercing. It was still worth it!

 

So, on with my train of thought. What comes with making choices is change, and for most if not all humans the fear of change accompanies. This fear holds people back from making choices and living their dreams! If change is inevitable wither we choose it or not, why do humans have this automatic, almost instinctual response to decide not to choose? Here is what I came up with: If a human decides based on logic then they are following some equation that makes sense. Who wrote this book of rules (often termed "they"... ie: "you know they say") no one knows. Shouldn't we each be writing our own book of rules? It only makes sense to me that, "I know better then anyone what is best for me." Maybe it's that humans don't like to take responsibility for their own lives. If we don't make the choices that create the change, then somehow it is someone else's fault when something unwanted happens. 

And with this conversation I have opened a very large can of worms, being the human mind. Can we ever really know? For each mind is so different but some traits are universal. Maybe choosing to accept that we will never really know, adds beauty to the mystery of life. 

Spotlight

Here are a few friends from home who are killing it at life.

Lucas DeBari

Lucas is one of those kids, who would never be the one to tell you he won the Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom ('07) at the young age of 18, beating out guys he grew up watching win the pro men's division, Temple Cummins and Terje Haakonsen. He is a humble somewhat quiet kid with talent that speaks loudly. I have watched him through the years grow up, work hard and finally BLOW UP on the snowboard scene. Lucas also won "Rookie of the Year" at the Transworld Rider Poll Awards 2009. Proud of you bud!

Kolby Reimer

Kolby and I danced together on our high school Dance Team, BHS. She always stuck out as a starlet that could freestyle like no other. I remember us girls all thinking that someday Kolbs would be in music videos and such. Well it seems her love of dance is still very much alive. She has recently graduated from college having danced on 2 teams through her years in Eastern Washington. One being an elite group, The Spokane Shock Dance Team. I have no doubts that Kolby will go on to be a professional dancer for a sports team and who knows, maybe a music video or two. 

Elisa Weiss

Elisa is a woman of the world. Having traveled to many far off places and gathered the most breath taking shots along the way. She is a student of photography at Evergreen, an avid adventurer, athlete and an activist for positive change. Most recently she has been acknowledged for her abilities in rock climbing. 

Crystal Banning

Crystal and I danced for years together, first in the Pacific Ballet Company and then on the BHS Dance Team. She was shall I say, the most talented dancer I knew growing up, always! She had a love for ballet at a young age and ran with it. Now she is a graduate from Montana State University along with an acclaimed ballerina. She has danced for companies in Boston, gaining notice for her exquisite technique and grace. 

More Art...

This piece is titled "Bottled Emotions." On each glass bottle there is an emotion engraved and below a warning "under pressure, may blow." How witty.

Thanks mom!

I recently found this piece of artwork at a gallery walk in Boulder, CO. It reminds me of "strong women" and therefore was fitting for the occasion.

It's Mother's Day and I have a very special person to celebrate!

My mother Allain VanLaanen is a woman of many talents. She is an amazing artist, teacher, mountaineer, botanist, agriculturist, single mom, musician, song writer, and the most kind and generous person I know. She is so strong, vibrant and full of life. Thanks mom for bringing me into the world and filling my life with so much joy! I love you!

Tuesday Tye-Dye Day!

Tuesday was Tye-Dye Day over at Ashley's house. 

We started with some shirts and such and then Ash began to grab blankets and sheets from her house!

This blanket turned out rad!

It was such a blast! Thanks to Emily for bringing the Tye-Dye goodies! :)

Notes on Facebook...

I was on facebook this afternoon and received a note from a young gal looking for advice on skiing professionally. After I wrote back answering her questions, I realized this would be great information to share with anyone who might have wondered these same things. Therefore I decided to post it onto my blog... 

"Heyy Angeli!!
So this is a really random message... but my mom and I just had a life talk about me trying to pursue skiing as a career and what not and if I should keep going after it.. and we started talking about how I would support myself if I made it and how well I would do financially and what not and what I should do about school and blah blah blah... and the truth is that I really have no idea! So I decided to ask you, since you're one of the best girls in the skiing industry... like how you're making it? Like are your sponsors paying for all your travels and paying you enough to survive with living and food expenses and what not? Or do you still need to rely on parents or have a side job? And like what do you plan to do once your skiing career comes to an end and you might need to get a real job? Did you go to college and what not and have a degree to fall back on? Sorry I guess this is kinda personal information!!... but if you can help me out at all I would greatly appreciate it!! I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life and its not working haha
Thank you so much!! Hope all is well!!"

My reply:

"Hey,
Yeah no worries, I know exactly how you feel and to be quit honest have been exactly where you are at. However, very few would answer these questions for me, because you'll find people in the ski industry to be very secretive. Great people don't get me wrong, but it is a business. 
OK, so I have been living solely on my ski earnings for 2 years. Starting out, I had to spend a bit of my savings to get by without another side job. I have completed my associates degree (2 years of college) but since have taken time off to focus on skiing. As of now, my sponsors are paying for all my travel and skiing expenses, as well as retainer (money to live off of). 
I have always been great at budgeting my money and in the past few years have been able to put money back into my savings account. 
There is huge opportunity for us ladies out there in the ski industry... however, times are tough for all business right now with the state of the economy. So, this might be a hard time to get financial support from sponsors.
I have decided on a career path post skiing this year, and that is PT (physical therapy). I do not know when I will get back into school, maybe this fall, maybe wait another few years. But I figure, school will always be there. Skiing is something you have to grasp now, for it is only going to get harder and harder to make a name for yourself, with tons of young guns (like yourself) getting into competing. 
Although my mom gives me the occasional massage coupon or buys me some ski socks... I have been fully supporting myself since I moved out of home at 18. It is possible to do, but I have made many sacrifices to make it work financially.
Some examples: 
*Living in a one bedroom apartment with 4 other girls.
*eating lots of pasta
*living out of my car for the past 3 summers.
etc...
I guess the question to ask yourself, how much do you want it? Would you be satisfied with your accomplishments no matter what? Because you have to just go for it and risk falling flat on your face, but that is just life in general. Big Dreams, Big Risk. 
I am happy to answer any other questions or aid you in anyway getting to know how the industry runs. I believe that there is enough out there for all of us and if you work hard you will find your place. So, there is no need to keep secrets about how it all works.
:)
Oh and yeah things are great. Just moved to Salt Lake City, UT for the summer. So excited to not have to live out of my car this year :)
Hope you are doing well and that this email was at all helpful.
Ang"

Big thanks to Riley Poor, Sarah Burke and Elana Chase for advising me through those first years. I would love to pass on the same generosity that they showed me. 

Boulder Gallery Walk...

Nicole and I walked to Pearl Street yesterday afternoon to stroll the Boulder Gallery Walk. An exhibit done by Mary Scrimgeour caught my eye. Her collage of methods and sketchbook-esque layout was both playful and thoughtful. Here are some photos I took of her art... (the lighting didn't do much for my point and shoot camera. These shots don't do the coloring justice. When browsing think, vibrant.)

Click on photo to enlarge

"A" is for "Angeli"

:)