Not quite sure what to do with myself

I have a day off. A day off from work. A day off from all three kids. A day off from loving wife. Hmmm. I used to know what to do with myself. I used to have hobbies. (I guess this blog qualifies as something of a hobby) Most of what I have now are 'to-do' lists. I am a list kind of person, so this is okay by me. But what happens when the list whittles down to nil? I usually wind up trying to study or take things apart that I know I will never get back together. Guess I'll go for a ski this afternoon. Perhaps this Australia thing will teach me what to do with superfluous time (is there such a thing?). I think I need to unstructure.

Old Man, Winter

I went (downhill) skiing yesterday, and I feel old. Due to circumstances (residency, twins, knee operations, etc.) I haven't actually been skiing in two years. I have nice realatively new skis (no excuse there), there was great snow (no excuse there), and I am in reasonably good shape (for my age...no excuse there either). Mind you, I have fairly poor balance, which I believe is secondary to proprioception alterations due to said knee operations, which contributes to my skiing fitness. Aside from orthopedic issues, I also apparently do not have the intestinal fortitude that I had as a younger man/child. This may be the actual problem.

I skied by myself and was found to be surrounded by high school boys on holiday jumping off of lips and hills, landing backways, sideways, frontways, and upside down with no regard to their knees or heads. I used to do this. I used to be good (raced in college, although our team was not exactly known for it's skiing prowess...another story for another time). My day was spent wondering where the next bump or divot was and how it was going to effect my upright nature. And today has been spent dreading the trip downstairs and the screams of my thighs. What happened?

In my defense, I did get better as the day went on, and perhaps next time won't be that bad. Or, maybe I'll go snowboarding next time, because I already know that I am terrible at that, and I have no glory days to relive. Or, maybe I'll go to Australia. I hear that place is fantastic. Still don't know when they will be posting my video...

Shameless Plug for Hamilton Island

I mentioned upcoming posts regarding my quest for a "job" in Australia. My efforts thus far have been pretending to be photogenic (and failing miserably), pretending to be a documentary-type film maker (and failing miserably), and researching pictures of Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays online. Truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Click here for a link to some pictures and here for a link to the website

Now my video capture and edit skills are up for a test. Most of you know I can write and take decent pictures, and of course you know my wry wit and
ability to promote my passions (or at least sell the heck out of things in which I am invested). None of this, however, does me any good if my video looks like it was made by a 3 year old...that gives me a thought...Jackson has been taking pictures lately. Maybe I could get him to direct. Wish me luck. Also please note that pictures were stolen from the Hamilton Island toursim website. Full disclosure if I want this job I suppose.