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Himeji Castle

Play With The Pain

I went snowboarding on Saturday for the first time this winter, which meant on Sunday I wanted to die. I was, however, prepared for this eventuality, and faced the day with a bellyful of sushi, a fistful of drugs and an Xboxful of KOTOR 2. Unfortunately Monday fell on me like a great flaming meteor made of rabid cougars, and I very nearly had to chug a morphine and mango smoothie to tame the pain. Tuesday had turned the cougars into slightly peeved chipmunks, and I expect Wednesday will see me entirely back to normal, at least until I trip down some stairs and get run over by a truck carrying six tonnes of cheese whiz.

My day on the snow wasn't the best I've ever had, with my back giving me grief, the snow quite average, the slopes crowded, the rental shop infuriating and my technique well below par. Despite all this, despite the pain and even despite the $90 it cost me for the day, I actually had a pretty good time. This might be proof that my brain has finally degraded into a rotten slush only capable of processing episodes of Survivor or Sunday NFL games, but there's no denying the lure of crisp, fresh snow, particularly if it's only minutes from my front door. I mean to make the most of it, and embrace every opportunity for concussions, fractures and soft tissue damage.

It also feels rather good to be out and about again, being a good tourist and doing authentically Canadian activities. I'm hoping to go a little further afield just after Christmas, although work are doing their best to turn me into a mass-murdering office killing machine. I hope they have a half-pipe in prison.