I finally went snowboarding on Saturday. It was fun, but not that fun. Northstar's got no real black diamond runs. I didn't notice that before.

I was a cheapass and didn't buy a helmet, so I didn't try more than two jumps. I hit my head pretty hard doing the first one, and my neck still hurts from that. My toes are also sore because my boots are a size too small, and I have to curl my toes inside them... which hurts like a bitch when I'm toe-ing. Not much else is sore. I don't get that great a workout when I snowboard because I never fall, and I don't carve much to slow myself down because I want to go nearly full-speed down, and I stop regularly to wait for my friends.

I'm not sure if I'll ever enjoy snowboarding as much as I used to. The thrill is gone. It's just another expensive all-day group activity, like river-rafting, that isn't worth the trouble (cost, long drive, sunburn, etc.) to do that often. Most of the people I go up with are still just trying to get down the mountain. Maybe I need to board with better snowboarders, and try boarding between trees, or learn moguls, or the jumps and the halfpipe, and other tricks.

The eight of us stayed at the Golden Phoenix in Reno on Saturday night. Mistake. You do not want to stay there. Stay at the Sands Regency if you want something cheap but decent. We had the buffet dinner at El Dorado. The prime rib, au jus, was the best thing they served. I love the stuff.

During dinner, we talked about dreams. A mystery was solved for me. I had two horrible dream-like experiences last May while in NYC (I blogged about them), that I now know are not uncommon. Such experiences are common during sleep paralysis (more info here and here). After falling asleep, I suddenly became conscious of something black and heavy with a death grip on my mind and body, stifling the life out of me. I tried to struggle out of its grasp and breathe and scream for help, but couldn't move and couldn't make any noise. I thought I was really fighting for my life, and I was going to die. The fact that I finally came out of the experience made me want to believe I had been dreaming, though I'd felt awake the entire time and could see the outlines of the things around me in the dark room.

I try not to hold the paranormal responsible for these types of experiences. And now that I finally have a scientific explanation for what I went through, I can rest a lot easier... literally. I hope that if I ever have the experience again, I'll remember what it is during... and be able to snap out of it and avoid the fear and agony.

On Sunday, we went to Altantis for a poker tournament. Two of our friends were in it, and one of them won it.

I wonder when I'll be up in Reno again. Probably not just to gamble. Probably not until the summer, if I plan to go mountain biking at Northstar...