I'll Miss You Chris

Got another dose of bad news today from the mainland. One of my best friends from high school, Chris Rudolph, was killed in an avalanche yesterday at Stevens Pass. I got to know Chris when he was the funny guy who lined up next to me in Mr. Walsh's freshman PE class at Campolindo High School. We both shared an interest in mountain biking and skiing. We became good friends during track season as both the high jumpers (me) and pole vaulters (Chris) spent most of their practice time lounging the on large foam mats at the far end of the track. After that we spent our high school years biking Mount Diablo and Canyon or stealing weekend trips to Alpine Meadows or Homewood. I still remember the time when Chris and I took High Traverse at Alpine and he stood up for me after I skied over Shane McConkney's prototype skis. I can also recall an incident with the Moraga Police that he managed to talk our way out of after one of my first keg parties.

Chris was the person who, following my winter in Tahoe and summer back in San Francisco, convinced me to give one last go at the mountain life and do a winter up at Stevens Pass. He was just hired on in the marketing department at Stevens Pass, he got me hired on as one of the coffee stand supervisors. We had some great evenings hanging out, but it was a lost winter, due to a lack of snow. The mountain was open for approximately four weeks out of the four months I was up there. This left plenty of days and evenings to hang out in Chris' cabin across from the mountain.

I've been a part of the ski community for enough years to know people that have died in avalanches, but it hits close to home when it was one of the people you came of age with. Chris, next time I'm up in Leavenworth, I'll raise a toast to you. It won't be the same without you.

Shore Day

The view from the Administrative Law Judge's courtroom looks out on the Port. The huge luxury cruiseliner dwarfs our otherwise small and sleepy harbor.

Cruise ships have become semi-regular visitors to our otherwise quiet island. It's an odd experience for those of us that work int he harbor.

Driving to my trial this morning was rather difficult due to the traffic that all the aiga buses caused trying to pick up fares in the form of island tours.

Furthermore parking at the ALJ Court was next to impossible, even the driveway was blocked by an aiga. It took blocking traffic and yelling to get into the parking lot. I ended up parking on the grass under the stairs (the only spot a bus couldn't fit). I also go accosted several times by people trying to take me to mediocre sights all over the island while dressed in time and carrying a file box full of exhibits. Sigh, just cause every other white person here in on vacation doesn't mean I am...

Super Bowl

Just like on the mainland, Sunday was set aside for the Super Bowl. The Coast Guard Lieutenant hosted a barbecue at his house for the game. He rotisseried two pigs (that had been hanging out the previous day) and otherwise welcomed us for general revelry. We'd hoped to spend the day outside and watch the game with the benefit of a friend's projector, but the rain and wind conspired to keep us bottled by in the apartment.

After a half of jockeying for position to see the game, Sara and I bumped over to some friends of ours who were neighbors and opted to watch the rest of the game in the comfort of the couch.

One abnormality is that none of the TV station we receive in American Samoa have commercial access to the Super Bowl feed. Instead they mooch off the military feed for the game. This is great except for one unanticipated aspect: we don't get the commercials. The military feed has a number of military specific public service announcements in place of the commercials, think "loose lips sink ships" and the ilk. These are not allowed to be shown on civilian broadcasts, so instead American Samoa gets video feed from various churches during the commercial breaks. This seems to be the best alternative the broadcasters on the island could come up with.

As a person that does not go to church, this is a nice reminder as to why I prefer to spend my Sunday doing outdoor activities. Every image that is shown from these churches is people falling asleep in the pews or looking deathly bored. There's occasionally shots of the priest or preacher talking, but no sound comes through and they usually quickly pan to people dressed up in their finest outfits, sweating their way through Sunday. It's truly a testament to how much sway the churches hold here, that the local population all go to church and spend their Sundays looking insanely bored.

Glad I only have to experience during commercial breaks during the Super Bowl. But it also means I need to waste time later in the evening tracking down the commercials online.