Archive for July, 2009

I have hit a wall.  It has been a full week since I have been able to make it to either CrossFit or yoga.  I have made a few feeble attempts at some hike/runs around the valley, but it is piddling in comparison to my grandiose goals with my fitness recovery.

In the meantime, I have found myself fully embracing my perceived status as a commercial rafting bus shuttle driver.  I have sold out.  I feel empty and hollow inside, even as I finally gather more hours of employed time than any other week so far this summer.  Somehow I feel as though there is more that I could do, but the the persons in charge don’t offer any respectable way to discuss the issue.

That being the case, my brain runs wild with ideas of how to escape this repression, and all the while, my physical fitness motivation has been shot dead.  I’m not sure what to do, or even what the next step is, but I worry that I have already compromised too much.

We Japanese Americans have spent much of our history holding our tongues and fearing for the consequences of standing out from the crowd and not playing by ‘their’ rules.  What I’d never have expected, is that I’d finally come to this realization through my position as a raft guide.

Oh, excuse me…commercial rafting bus shuttle driver.  Check ya later…oh, and stay beautiful.

Casey & Tats

This is an ideas and planning page for Casey & Tats’ winter season project of 2010.

Our goal is to travel for a 12 week period beginning in early January through the beginning of April.  During this timeframe, we will aspire to not only live the life of two ordinary ski bums, but to document the trials and tribulations of chasing powder snow along the open road.

With the assistance of the Internet, we will be updating a daily blog through video, written, and photo documentation.  In addition, we hope to hire a filmer to provide a 3rd person perspective of our odyssey that will be edited into either weekly or monthly videos.

We plan on distributing the vlogs, blogs, and stories online through available channels such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Skiing/Snowboarding magazine sites, and newsletters sent out by our sponsors to their customer base.

We realize that a journey like this can’t, and won’t be completed on our own.  We would like to open up the offer to ski/snowboard magazines, industry sponsors, and beyond.  If you or your company are interested in supporting this project, please shoot us an email.

Click here to meet Tats (Chris Tatsuno)
Click here to meet Casey (Casey VandenBroek)

It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to get into the gym, or yoga hot room for that matter.  In the mean time, I’ve found myself spending quality time with good friends, and of course, my girlfriend.  I’ve even been fairly good at motivating myself to run up some short trails near Snowmass and Carbondale, though nothing is really quite like a muscle-busting workout with Spencer Keep or a ligament stretching yoga sesh with Kate Giampapa .

Anyway, even with a nice Sunday afternoon off, I find it difficult to stay motivated for these daily workouts.  Luckily, some stoke comes from the people that count the most: my friends.

I had a chance to meet Arly Velasquez during my trip to Mt. Hood earlier this summer as an assistant coach for the Challenge Aspen Competition Team .  Arly was attending the summer camp spectrum in a racing capacity for the NSCD out of Winter Park, CO.  When his team left Oregon, he stayed on to continue working on his skiing and racing.  He hopped in our truck and trained with us for a couple of days before we had to make our exit as well.

Check out this YouTube video Arly produced about his trip to Mt. Hood and see what I mean about his stoke.  It’s people like this that keep me motivated to get strong, stay healthy, and shred pow all over the world.

Click here to check out Arly’s Facebook page !!