Happy new year! What a busy past few weeks. People that live and work in mountain towns know the holiday bustle that we just rolled out of. I had my first full day off since Christmas yesterday. I had the intention to be somewhat productive and at least get a few free ride laps on the mountain, but my body decided I was going to sleep in til 11 and then I just stayed pretty lazy all day. I’m not mad about it. Sometimes you just gotta chill.

Despite how full my life has been lately, it has all been pretty good. The boss man left for San Diego (prepping the new shop) the week before Christmas, so I’m top dog at work. Our team has been crushing it during this busy tourist season. So much credit goes to my crew for holding it down during my mandatory work days on the mountain.

I wanted to write this Music Monday post for last week, but couldn’t motivate myself to do it in my downtime, but I want and need to be more consistent with my posts. This is a perfect first post of 2019. Last Monday I had an appointment with my therapist (we meet once a month, basically). With it being a new year, she wanted me to think of what should be my own ‘word of the year’. As she was explaining what she meant by it, I quickly had a word pop into my head.

So, let’s rewind to exactly one week prior, New Year’s Eve. One of my favorite perks of my instructor job is that the Snowsports school is responsible for doing all of the torchlight parades. For those of you that don’t know what a torchlight parade is, it’s literally just people skiing/snowboarding down the mountain while holding flares or lights. Back in Ohio, our torchlight parades were done by our ski patrol. In Steamboat, it’s the instructors. Many of us dress up in goofy costumes. We hold road flares in our hands and ride down lower mountain just after sunset and there’s fireworks and whatnot.

After getting off the Christy Peak lift, I was strapping in by some other snowboard instructors before we rode down to the top of the See Me run to set up for the parade. My buddy James is singing this song out loud that is apparently his go to torchlight song. I asked him what song it was and he told me I should check it out. LET ME TELL YOU that I listened to the song once I got home (after going to Cruisers to do inventory after torchlight) and I was hooked. Not only is it catchy, but the chorus is spot on for life at the moment and how I plan to live out the rest of my existence.

A-a-aye, I’m on vacation
Every single day ’cause I love my occupation
A-a-aye, I’m on vacation
If you don’t like your life, then you should go and change it

Seriously though. This song is my jam… not to mention that fact that Principal Belding is the main character of the music video is pure fire. Sure, some days I want to throat punch people at both jobs. But, overall, I have two awesome jobs that I LOVE. Not only that, but I live in a place that basically survives off of people paying thousands of dollars to vacation here. I’m always on vacation.

Daily, daily, get to do this shit I love upon the daily. Go find a way to ‘make a living out of living’. It’s worth it.