Today's Challenge: 10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
This one was tough for me to think of. I can think of two other moments that are definitely worse / more embarrassing, but they're not moments I'm willing to share on here. They have both taken place in the past five years, though. This is the most recent overly embarrassing moment, but some may not find it embarrassing at all.
Last winter, Dan convinced me that I would love to go skiing. I agreed because it sounded fun and was something I'd always wanted to try. After all, it was my first winter in Colorado, so how could I turn it down? Plus, he promised me some awesome food on the drive home (and don't even get me started on the fact that by the time we got anywhere with food selections, everything was closed and we ended up eating at Wendy's, which I also hate!) What an experience.
Dan and I woke up really early one Saturday morning (think 6:00!) and drove from Colorado Springs to Keystone Ski Resort, which is a couple hours away. On the drive there, I was excited and anxious, ready to see what this was all about! When we parked, it took me a good 20 minutes to even get the ski boots on. It was rough, and I had several sizes too large just so they would snap shut over my calf muscles (don't ask -- they're big). After hobbling around and some much needed assistance from Dan, I was ready to go. We trekked all the way to the opening, where we paid and went inside. My legs were KILLING ME after just the walk. I'm not out of shape by any means, so this was surprising to me. EVERYTHING was burning, and I was ready to call it a day before we even began.
Dan insisted that I wasn't in as much pain as I was claiming. (On another note, why do people always insist that? You have NO IDEA how much pain I am in.) We headed to the top of the mountain in a gondola (CRAZY SCARY) and got out. I could barely move, so Dan took me to the bunny slopes to practice. Let me just point out that he is not the best ski instructor, and I am still mad at Aaron for not going with us to teach me. I learned, and I didn't fall. I thought I was getting the hang of it. Dan said I was a natural and that he had fallen 30 times on his first day, and I only fell twice. I told him it's because I'm more athletic than him, blah blah blah. I should have kept my mouth shut.
We went to a scarier part of the practice area, and we were getting skiied around by all kinds of people under four feet tall (aka kids who were far better than both of us). Finally, I decided to brave a pretty intense hill (that is probably nothing, really). I did it several times, and I was feeling confident. I couldn't turn very well, and I had NO control over how to stop. Each time, though, I seemed to make it to the bottom and was ready to take the lift back up to try again. One time, though, I freaked out. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move in because I was going so fast. I had too much momentum. While that may sound fun in theory, picture yourself flying down a mountain and full speed and being unable to stop. Terrifying. In order to sto myself, I leaned over and fell.
Since I fell on purpose, I don't count that as one of my true falls. However, there was one issue with this fall. I couldn't get back up. Oops. Dan caught up with me (remember: I was going so fast that I couldn't stop, so naturally I was ahead of him, with much less technique!) and tried to help me up. It wasn't working. He couldn't pull me up from the angle I was at. He suggested that I take the skis off and climb up in just the boots. I did. It worked. But then I couldn't get the skis attached back to the boots. He was doing his very best trying to hold me upright so I could position my feet correctly into the skis. It was frustrating, and I literally could not get into them. I tried and tried and didn't want to give up. I had only one option: make it down the steep hill. That, or as Dan said, I'd be stuck sitting there in the snow forever. It was impossible to walk back up or walk down the mountain. I wanted to give up. I started crying because nothing was working, and I was miserable.
I was so mad. I kept crying and started getting mad at Dan because he couldn't help me up AND he was laughing at me. I was frustrated and humiliated as people kept skiing by us, looking pathetically at me. There is nothing I hate more than not being able to do what others can. This fueled my fire even more, and I started yelling out. Dan was still laughing at me, but he was also starting to get embarrassed because people were now looking at him apologetically. Poor guy. It must suck to be with a girl who can't ski in Colorado, right? I don't feel sorry for him one bit. As I started REALLY getting ticked off, my face was burning red. It was one of the most awful feelings in the world. And then it got worse: I realized that we were directly below the ski lift, and people had been watching us from just a few feet above, laughing and pointing all the way. I FELT LIKE A TOOL.
Hands down, that is a moment I will never forget. I have never felt so low, and I was embarrassed for myself and for Dan. I just wanted out of there. But in true Janelle fashion, I did what I thought was impossible. I got on my skis and made it all the way down, tears streaming down my face all the way. I wanted out of there, but it was too early. Dan skiied some more while I sat inside Starbucks reading a book from my iPhone. Loser award for the year? Me. I tried to brave the slopes two more times that season. Both attempts were pathetic, and I hated every bit of it. This year, we couldn't afford passes to Keystone, so we didn't go at all. Dan says that we'll try again next year, but I'm really not certain I want to give it another try. I do know one thing, though. This girl does NOT give up. If I do have to go again, I hope I will be able to figure it all out right away. That, or I will at least take REAL lessons. We'll see. Enjoy these pictures from BEFORE the incident, where I still look happy.
Alright, well that was interesting to think about once again. It reconfirms that skiing just isn't for me. I wish it was because I love sports, I love snow, and I love the cold. It seems like it'd be the perfect activity, but... well... it sucks.
Have a great week, everyone!
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