by Steven Sentosa on January 12, 2010
I don’t know why, but the weather in Pensacola is kinda weird lately. As you know, Pensacola, FL should be warm and sunny, but somehow it’s so cold now. I know it’s winter now so it should be cold, but still it’s not like it used to be. One guy here even told me that it even felt colder here than in North Dakota or Colorado. Yesterday it was 21F (-6C) here. If you add the winchill, it could be as low as 10F. Today is actually getting warmer a little bit.
Well, I guess you just need to layer up. I began to use long johns couple weeks ago, and it works great for me. Top it with ear warmer and some fleece jacket, you are good to go. If you have dry skin, make sure you are using skin moisturizer. Vaseline petroleum jelly works just fine for me, plus it’s cheap 
If you live in tropical country, you are so lucky. Enjoy every minute of it.
As you can see, our lawn turned into ice here.
by Steven Sentosa on December 29, 2009
This is probably the peak of my vacation this year, snowboarding. The last time I snowboarded was about 3 years ago. I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t have the chance to really “enjoy” it because I fell so many times at that time. This time, I managed to enjoy my snowboarding little bit more as I was able to control my board little bit better than the last time. I still fell down a lot but not as much.
We decided to go to WinterPlace Ski Resort to snowboard. It was located in Ghent, WV. The price was ok, but there was no other attractions other than ski resorts in West Virginia, so during the three days we were there, we didn’t go anywhere else besides eating and snowboarding. The place was great though. It was much cleaner than the ski resort I saw in Gatlinburg, TN.
There are couple lessons I learned as I begin to understand to snowboard:
- Stay calm. AT first, you will panic as your board slides through the snow, because you don’t really know how to control the board. However, the more you are panicking the more your board go wild and you will end up falling. So, stay calm, hear and remember what your instructor told you to do.
- Balance yourself. Position your shoulder at the center of your board. Don’t fight it. Your body will naturally leaning backward or forward to balance yourself, but by doing so, you will be off-balance from your snowboard and fell.
- Point your front shoulder to the direction you want to go. Your front shoulder is used as a string wheel. By pointing your shoulder, your hips and legs will turn to the direction you want to go, and it will also turn the board to the right direction.
- Learn how to stop really well. This will help you a lot, especially in the beginning stage. You don’t want to hit someone or fell to the gutter at side of your snowboard track. Also, proper fall will minimize the impact from falling.
- Stretching before you start. Your body will be forced to do certain things that you would not normally do. So, if you are not properly stretching, your body will sore more that it should be.
- Wear proper attire. Make sure you wear something that’s waterproof, including your pants, jacket, and gloves. If not, the water from snow will penetrate into your body and make you fell really cold. Most places rent bib, so if you don’t have waterproof pants, you can rent it from them. TIPS: Go to Good Will Store to get cheap snowboard attires.
Snowboard bib
If you are not a beginner, you might have your own preference in do things when you are snowboarding. That’s fine. The list above is only for beginners.
by Steven Sentosa on December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope everyone have a great Christmas. For those of you who lived on the other side of the world, you might have already passed the Christmas day. It’s fine I guess, because the Christmas spirit is still there, right?
I have the privilege to enjoy white Christmas here in US and I’m really thankful for that. For those of you who don’t get white Christmas, don’t be disappointed. Please remember what Christmas is all about. It’s not the snow, but it’s Jesus who was born in to this world 2000 years ago.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16. It always amazes how God willingly gave his only son to save us from hell and bring us to heaven. So the question for you in this Christmas day: Is God in your heart today? God has given you the greatest gift ever, which is salvation. Would you receive it? If you gave someone a present, don’t you really want your present to be received and opened by whomever you gave it to? So does God, He really wants you to open his gift of Salvation. You just have to received it and opened it.
Merry Christmas 2009.
