working for the village

Today the ski and snowboard teams had to meet at Diamond Peak to do some work for the mountain to "earn" our season passes. I envisioned having to hike up the mountain and do back breaking labor for the entire day on only a couple hours of sleep. Luckily, I was wrong. We split into groups and my group just walked around the base by the parking lot picking up trash. I hate touching other people's trash and I felt gross for the first couple of minutes but then I got over it. Finding trash was like a scavenger hunt and the weather was pretty nice so I had a good time. We only had to work for like an hour and then we left. I like doing work like that. It makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile with my day.The experience made me respect the mountain so much more. I don't litter anyways, but now I definitely won't and will call people out when they do (primarily because I'll just have to pick the trash up next October).

Familia 2 and stuff.

Another fun weekend. I'm going three for three now with these Reno trips.

My mom came up for Sierra Nevada College's parent's weekend and was planning on staying at my place until Sunday. On Saturday there was a whole slew of activities at the Freight House District in Reno and I convinced my mom that she had to come with me to see what snowboard life is like.

The set up. Photo By Boreal

The first event at the Freight House was Boreal's rail jam. I thought I'd be able to do a bunch of tricks and get some gear but I was wrong. They didn't have enough snow so they had to take the box out. This left the flat bar rail. It would have been fun and I could have still done some cool tricks but I just couldn't get enough speed. Even a lot of the guys were having trouble making it to the end. The funnest thing I did was stall on the rail, rock back down the lip, ride up the drop in ramp and 180. I didn't make it across the whole rail once. Not like it mattered because they didn't have any girl prizes anyways. It was fun to ride with my friends though. And how can I complain about riding a rail in Reno on October 15?

After the jam were the festivities inside the Freight House. The guy at the door knew me and let me and my mom in without the $15 tickets, making this the first premier I haven't had to pay for this year (I have no idea who the guy was and even after a ten minute conversation with him I was still bluffing my way through our relationship). The only thing going on inside was the autograph signing. I don't usually participate in those but since there wasn't anything else to do I got some magazines signed. I talked with Sean for a couple minutes and he was like "I need a picture with Dylan Thompson and a bunch of girls" so we got a group of girls together, took a couple pictures and then we went to the bar and Sean bought each of us a couple of drinks. I had a good time talking to him. He was super nice and I was stoked to meet someone new. I love meeting people.

Screen on the field. (Photo: Josh Parker)

The first movie started and I honestly can't even tell you what it was. I went to the back of the Freight House and sat in the seats facing the screen above the baseball field with Sean. We ended up talking most of the movie and I was under the influence enough that I could watch the movie screen and not be able to process a single shot. Finally I was like "Oh shoot my mom is sitting alone. I'm gonna tell her to come back here." I brought her back to where I had been sitting and watched the rest of the movie with her.

Then came the product toss. Having two people doubles your chances of catching stuff so that was awesome. Ended up with a couple of things. None of which I would ever wear, but my giveaway collection is growing so I should be able to have another one of those soon.

Finally Familia started. I'm not writing a review of the movie here, so all I'm going to say is that is was good and you should watch it. I tried narrating what all the tricks were to my mom. Before I brought her to the event I was like "I want you to see what snowboarding is about" and she replied "I know about snowboarding. I watch the Olympics." I attempted to help her understand the video the best I could so that she could see that people snowboard outside the Olympics.

After Familia 2 was the raffle, for which I had no tickets. Then was the win a date with Brewer auction. I was ready to put $10 down for a date, but some older blonde lady put down $75 and I was beat. I didn't think anyone would pay more than $15 for that guy but I was wrong. Ha

"White boy wasted" (Photo: Josh Parker)

Then the music started and my mom went back to our hotel room at the Circus Circus to sleep. She had no desire to see Kreayshawn. Shame. The show started with a bunch of random DJ rap group things. I was maybe a bit tipsy and didn't know who was playing at all. I was on stage for most of the sets until too many people ended up on stage and security kicked everyone off. I stayed up there and finally security was like "You need to get off." And I was like "No way. I'm PR for Technine. This is my job to be up here. Do you know who I am? I've been here all night. Do you know who I am??" It didn't work. I had to get off the stage. Haha. I thought it was funny to try though. Then before Kreayshawn started I went back onto the stage and was standing by the back with Jay, Eric, and Brewer. Security once again came to kick us off, Jay did some sweet talking, something about being a photographer, and the rest of us just stayed up there.

The DJ was playing tracks. Everyone was just moving around pretending to do stuff.

Kreayshawn started and while I don't know any of her songs besides Gucci Gucci (come on, can anyone name ONE other Kreayshawn song? Didn't think so), her music was actually pretty catchy. She started with no shoes on and threw her socks into the crowd while she was singing and did the rest of her set barefoot. Security came up a few more times to kick randoms off the stage, and while I could probably win the random-person-of-the-year award, I managed to not get kicked off by just staying at the back of the stage. By the end of the show Eric, Brewer, Johnny, and I were all dancing towards the front of the stage, just having a good time. When they finished performing I hugged Kreayshawn's sister, high fived Kreayshawn, and then they were gone. And so were we. (Later friends of mine questioned how I was on stage the whole time. I have no idea how it worked out, really, but cool things seem to happen to me when I'm drunk.)

Paul in the zone. (Photo: Alana Vaccaro)

First stop after the show was Lincoln Lounge. Which was the best place ever. They played a bunch of classic rock songs and I danced my little heart out. Who did I dance with?? I'm pretty sure I had a few different dance partners, but I don't remember all too well. I know Skeetiter showed up and I danced with him. And then Keeks came out of nowhere too. Oh and Seanderson, Sierra, Marina, Alana, Woj, and Stickupthebutt were with us as well (Looking at photos I realize there were a lot more people than I remembered, so I'm not even going to try listing everyone). At some point a food truck showed up outside the Lounge and I thought it was the delicious Taco Truck so I grabbed Sierra and we ran out to get tacos. Turns out it was the Italian Truck so she bought us some chicken parm, spaghetti, and lasagna. We went back inside to eat and I couldn't finish my stuff so Johnny, Woj, Skeetiter and some others were able to feast as well.

America. Fuck Yeah. (Photo: Alana Vaccaro)

Next stop was Wurk. It took us pretty long to get there. I think we went the wrong way. At some point we ran into a singing cowboy who wasn't very good. We hung out with him for a little while. Finally our ragtag pack made it to Wurk. We found out it was a $10 cover and not many of us wanted to pay that. So there we are, standing in front of the building, figuring out how we're going to sneak in. A couple kids tried to just rush the side door but security was on top of it and checked them for stamps. I had two stamps on top of my hands from the earlier events so I thought about trying to pretend one of those was the Wurk stamp until I realized the security guards were checking underneath the wrists for a stamp. I remembered I had eyeliner in my purse so I did a quick sketch of a stamp on my wrist and went to the side door. I walked in with Johnny who had just walked out so it would look like I had been with him. They still checked my wrist, but somehow my scheme worked and I made it in.

Some good Old Fashioned Reno Planking. (Photo: Alana Vaccaro)

Wurk was Wurk. Not much to say about it. More drinks, I think Brewer bought me a couple, I don't remember really. Lots of standing around talking. Kinda dancing. Trancing out in front of the speakers. All that. Finally around 4:30 I called it. I wanted to stay and I was down to party until the sun's out, which has been my Reno tradition I've kept up the past couple of weekends, but I had a hotel room and plans for the morning. The first time I tried leaving Jay grabbed me and was like "No. You aren't leaving." And brought me back in. I stayed for a couple more minutes, said my goodbyes to everyone, and then dipped out before anybody could stop me.

Finding Circus Circus was no problem, but finding the Hotel Tower was. I wandered around the casino for a while before I could find the actual hotel. I finally made it to my room and got in bed. Jay noticed I was gone at this point and started doing the "Where did you go? Come back!" drunk texts, which I found amusing. But it wasn't happening.

I woke back up at 8 and sent it back to Incline with my mom. I had to do some work at Diamond Peak at ten, and was thankfully done with it in like an hour. I came back home just as my mom was leaving. I hugged her good-bye and then passed the fuck out. I slept for the entire day, in my typical day-after-Reno tradition. I had such a good time last night and it was awesome to have my mom there with me for it. I think she enjoyed it too.

Can't wait for Sacramento sending next weekend!
Thanks for taking so many photos Josh & Alana! Many lost memories have been pieced together through these gems.

5 days of October shreddage

By some fortunate act of God, a storm rolled by last week and dropped a beautiful two feet of snow. I could talk about how awesome is was to be riding with friends again, or the cool stuff we had set up, but I'm just going to leave a couple videos for you to watch instead.

First is bHappy's edit. Always a fun time with them. Nicest guys you'll meet and they're so stoked on riding and having fun that you can't but to have fun either, even if you've spent four whole days trying to get the same trick and eating shit every time. I've got a fun little cameo in the beginning.

bHappy at Rose from bHappyFilms on Vimeo.



This next edit was made by Peter Rispoli, and features a bunch of kids from Sierra Nevada College. There are a ton of talented Freshmen this year. I have one shot in this one too. And it's me eating shit. Hopefully one-shot-of-Jenise-getting-wrecked in every edit doesn't become a trend this season. I do land some of my tricks too...


Mt Rose. October 2011 from Peter Rispoli on Vimeo.

First snow of the season.

October 5th. BOOM.
Snow made it all the way down to Incline Village. Getting my shred on later, but here are some pictures for this morning.

Had to check the webcam as soon as I woke up.

On the way to Reno. Saw an accident, and love tapped the car in front of us as well

Grey and still snowing

Way back from Reno. Beautiful blue skies and light, dry snow

The storm be approaching!

It's the moment we've all been waiting for! See on Wednesday where there's a 1 followed by two 0s and a %? Yeah 100% chance of snow. It's not likely- it's actually happening. All I can say is I know where I'll be on Wednesday. Snowboarding on rocks covered by an inch and a half of snow is the best! Mt. Rose, here I come.

Rome The Shred Remains premiere

Friday night was the The Shred Remains premier at the Freight House in Reno and let me tell you- it was probably the most epic night of partying I ever had. Here's the story. (Please excuse my constant shifting from past to present tense. My brain is only half working today)

I'm hanging out around campus on Friday trying to find a ride to Reno. Two weekends ago I drove to SF, and last weekend I drove to Bear. I was not down with driving more. Just completely over it. 6pm rolls around and it's looking like everyone has a full car. My issue was that I wanted to drink and have fun, but Mt. Rose highway is so gnarly that I wouldn't drive it after having anything to drink. If I only have to drive a mile through Bear, or Incline, or Govy after drinking I feel ok about it. But Mt. Rose is another story. I finally decide "Fuck it. I'm driving myself and just staying there for the night." I throw my sleeping bag in my car, get ready and head out.

I make it to Reno around 7:30 and run into people I know in like 3 seconds upon arrival. First it was little Lewis from my team at Northstar, and then I run into Ryan who I met riding Mt. Rose Summit last year and have been friends with since. I paid $3 for a PBR (ridiculous), and then wandered about chatting with my various friends there. My friend Jay has a free-drink wristband so of course I'm like "Nice wristband." which he responds with "Play your cards right and I might get you a drink later." So I immediately start laying the lines out real thick: "You look really nice tonight." "That jacket gives you a real nice shape. All rectanguler and manly." "Your eyes are sparkling". ch-ching. More beer for me.

It must have been 8 at this point, but the movie was like an hour late. Which I didn't mind because I was enjoying the company. I had ran into Marie briefly earlier and was super stoked to see her. She's an amazingly nice girl and always fun to be around. I want to find her again to spend more time catching up but I don't see her so I go to LNP who is unsurprisingly easy to find and ask him if he's seen her. One of my friends (I forget who) was standing near him and introduces me to LNP and a couple other Rome guys standing around. I had met Laurent last spring skating Truckee and then riding Boreal the next day with Marie and Victor and I guess he remembered because he goes "Ohhh yeah! I remember you!" and the game of catch-up begins with him. I end up talking to him until the movie starts, primarily about the nasty stuff that goes on inside the Rome van on the road. Laurent is such a nice guy and super easy to talk to. A+ quality human.

The movie finally starts, maybe at 9 or later, I wasn't really checking my phone for the time. It's a great movie and got me super stoked to ride. I liked the music all the way through. It was pretty balanced between jibbing, and powder which surprised me. I'm not into the big mountain stuff (pretty much because I can't do it) but they definitely had some cool shots. Here's the teaser if you haven't seen it yet.

Keeping it real. (Photo: Alana Vaccaro)

After the movie there was the product toss (Marie passed me a t-shirt, and I rock-paper-scissored for a banner) and then a party right there at the Freight House. If you haven't been there, it's a really cool venue. There's the indoor bar/restaurant, the outdoor bar, and then a dance club with bar. There was a random rock band playing outside on the stage where the movie was, so I danced with my friends, the group of us pretty much owning the dance floor. We eventually moved over to the club area and go crazy. I was throwing out dance moves like it was going out of style. I dipped out to the bar for a bit to take a break and end up exchanging some words with Lucas. We got to talking and totally clicked with each other. You know someone's ill when you can drop a Harry Potter reference and they get it right away. He treated me to a whiskey-coke and we spent a good amount of time at the bar just talking about everything. Together we went back to the club to dance.

Some Shout action at the Lincoln Lounge (Photo: Alana Vaccaro)

At this point I decide to really send it and have fun. And how do I go about doing that? Spitting my drink in the air of course. I did this a couple time but some girls started getting mad so I dipped off the floor and made my move to a chick with a cake in the lounge area. It's her birthday and she offers me a slice. I take a slice, duh, and wish her happy birthday. I start eating some and when I'm over it I start tossing pieces of cake onto the dance floor. I was in destructo mode, what can I say? Then I start climbing the furniture and dancing on that.  Lucas and I eventually dip out with a couple other people to this place down the street called the Lincoln Lounge. We dance there for a while and eat some awesome tacos from a food truck parked on the road. The vibe at LL was sick because they played a ton of classics.

After a while our whole mob moves down the street to Würk. As soon as we go in some drunk guy projectile vomits and I'm in the cross fire. That was shitty. I went to the bathroom to wash up and met RenoGirl. RenoGirl and I go back out to the club together, and she gives me the boost I need to walk around the club in just a bra and jeans. I had to ditch my shirt behind a couch because it was wet and gross. The plus side is that immediately upon getting to the bar some guy bought RenoGirl and I drinks. Jay sees me, takes pity on me and I end up wearing his jacket for the rest of the night. Besides the puke incident Wurk is fun, and a ton of people I know are there. I stay with Lucas almost the entire time, with RenoGirl by my side like a faithful companion.

I had my spy-cam out the whole time of course.

As we're leaving we get cornered by this crazy Mexican kid. It's me, Thomas, Jay, and Lucas standing against a wall around the corner of the club with this kid venting "I'm about to fucking lose it! I'm going to fucking lose it! My mind is going fucking crazy. I need someone to talk to before I go away. I will seriously beat the shit out of anybody right now." At one point I whisper something to Lucas that makes me giggle, and CrazyMexican, who had bat powers or something heard and started flipping out thinking I was laughing at him. I shifted to the side slightly and he freaked out about me trying to leave, saying something about smashing my face into the floor. This kid had just been in juvie for nine years and now he was totally losing it. Finally Jay bolted back to the club, and CrazyMexican chased after him. Jay manages to make it out without CrazyMexican and we dash across the street to the casinos. Crazy Mexican is on our trail though and we're dipping between rows of slot machines with the gangster kid that looks like he wants to kill us close behind. After some cat-and-mouse we manage to lose him and continue on with our partying (which included me losing money playing blackjack- very disappointing.)

When the sun comes back up I finally call it a night and go back to the Freight House parking lot to sleep in my car. I dozed for two hours but my car turned into an oven so I hit the road. I had planned on "sight-seeing" in Reno before going back to Incline but I was totally beat. And I had no money because I lost my last $5 on the black jack table. I made it to the bottom of Mt. Rose and pulled off into a neighborhood to nap for another hour before trekking over the mountain. I made it back to my place around 11am and have been laying in bed ever since. I don't see myself getting out of bed until tomorrow morning when I have to go paintballing for snowboard team bonding day. I'm exhausted, I can barely move, and I'm completely 100% stoked on how the night turned out. Hopefully I'll be sending it as hard for Capita's premier next week.