Meeting my V-Werk Katana's?

Was up at 6am again. Felt fairly well rested. I needed to be on top of the clock since I planned on working in Hilliard and wanted to be in the office by 845am in order to make an important all-hands meeting. To that end, I promptly completed calisthenics then delivered Mindy’s coffee. Spent about 15-20 minutes online enjoying coffee before moving on to meditation, stretching, and ultimately my run. Hit the street near 7am again. It was 22 degrees. By the way, expecting a high above freezing (mid 30s) by midafternoon.

Ran the full 4.1 miles. Felt good. With a dusting of fresh snow, I footing was a little tricky, but not really due to snow, but instead, what lied just beneath. I couldn’t easily discern whether there was ice or dry pavement below the snow. I ran the entire track with caution.

Mindy was already gone by the time I got back to the house. It was 737am. I leashed up the pug and walked her before bus stop time just like I did the day before. Mindy made scrambled eggs. I ate those before Bella and I headed out to the bus stop. Once again, the bus was parked at the entrance to the subdivision. We must be her initial stop again. She came barreling down the road right at 8am. I’m quite sure that that’s her start route time. I hustled back home to shower and dress for work. Was ready to go by 820am. I took a few minutes to throw some healthy snacks together too. I left for the office near 835am. I hoped to have enough time to get to my office, log-on, and then get down to the main lobby for the big all-hands meeting. I was excited to be working in Hilliard for a change. Something about being in the office with all my peers.

Arrived with plenty of time to spare. Quickly logged on then headed down to the lobby. A smaller gathering than I expected, but no less important. Saw several longtime peers that I haven’t seen in months (maybe years in some cases). The crux of the meeting was about all the changes and construction going on at our office building. All good news, of course. When it’s all said and done, we’ll have two to three thousand employees working in our building. Reopening the cafeteria after more than a ten year absence. Hoorah! Also adding a coffee bar, which I may partake in on occasion. If there was a downer of any sort, I was the fact that we’re modifying the internal building footprint by eliminating closed door offices and replacing them with giant cube farms. I don’t consider it too big of a deal. For one, I work remote three days a week. Plus, it seems to be the thing with most big companies these days.

Meeting was over near 10am. Afterwards we toured the staged cube farm to get an idea of what the finished product will look like. Meh! I spent most of my day working on monthly reports. I took a decent lunch break too. Drove to Aspen Ski & Board bent on checking out and possibly even buying those V-Werk Katana’s. Crazy, I know, but hey! I drove to the Arlington store first. They didn’t have them on display and Chad the manager was busy – tied up. Rather than wait, I decided to head north to the Polaris (larger) store. Seems kind of far, but with 315 just around the corner it was only another 15 minute drive.

They were bopping busy there, which I found somewhat surprising. I found the skis, but the only ones on display were 184s which are longer than I wanted. More importantly, they had the package sale price listed and it was lower than I’ve seen anywhere else online. Sweet! Two folks offered to help me, but I didn’t accept until a kid named Scott stopped over. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. Turns out, he used to work for the same company that I do only in Colorado. He was stoked with my ski choice. Said he loves them and really wants some for himself. In fact, to make sure I believed him, he went to the back and brought out his skis, which are the original Volkl Katana's – not the new V-Werks carbon fiber model, however.

Anyway, we contrasted and compared them to a few other ski models. But what really got me was when he said it was unlikely that they had others, especially in a 177cm in stock. Still, he agreed to go make sure. But sure enough, her he came with them still wrapped in plastic. He wisely put them in my hand, which if I was a ski salesman, that would be my goal.  They’re very pricey, and probably the most expensive ski on the market in its class. To be clear, however, the reason I want/like them is because of the following: I want some powder skis, (these are 112mm under foot), they’re cutting edge technology (made with carbon fiber), so they’re extra light, and they’re supposed be decent in crud and piste too. In addition to all of that, they’re flat black. Awesome!!!!

Now, all that said, I am still a wise shopper, and the last thing I wanted to do was pay a lot of money for the wrong ski. Scott might’ve gone a little far when he touted these as the best touring ski out there. Hell, I didn’t even know what the term meant. I wondered even more if I might be buying the wrong ski. Sure, it’s marketed for all terrain but with a real strong emphasis on back country powder. Come on, who’s fooling who? I will probably never ski back country powder.

Since last winter, I’ve also been looking at a couple Line models, the Sir Francis Bacon’s and the brand new Sick Days. I told Scott that at a minimum, I needed to sleep on the deal. He understood and agreed to hold the 177 V-Werk Katana’s for me. I left feeling good about my decision to think it through. I planned to do even more research that night at home, but believe me, I’ve read countless reviews on all the models that I am seriously considering.

Arrived back at the office after being out for a good 90 minutes. Got back to work on monthly reporting spending the entirety of the afternoon. Left for home around 430pm stopping at Kroger along the way. There I picked up some roses for Mindy, hoping to cheer her up and perhaps even help her feel special, some polish sausage, and some snap peas.

Arrived home near 5pm. Mindy was in the midst of making our dinner, pasta with red sauce and andouille sausage. She was very appreciative of the vibrant orange roses. They looked very healthy. It was a gymnastics night for Bella, the first since Dec 19th. We ate before Bella left for gymnastics. I offered to do the take if Mindy did the pick-up. Mindy balked at the idea. Mindy & Bella left for gymnastics near 545pm. Jacob asked to ride along. I used the time to clean-up the kitchen and tidy up the rest of the downstairs.

After finishing kitchen clean-up, I spent time online reading reviews on the new snow skis I’ve been looking at. Read numerous reviews, including watching Youtube videos, reviewing the V-Werks Katana’s. Lots of incredible reviews and very, very high marks. However, in almost all cases they were reviewed as a pure back country ski, which isn’t me. On the other hand, the Line Sick Day 110 seems to be the ski best suited for my skiing style and preference. Bottom line, I didn’t have to make my decision by Friday, or for that matter, at all.

Mindy was back from dropping Bella by 620pm. We talked for a while about what she shared the evening before – the unappreciated, overwhelmed thing. I left to fetch Bella at 715pm and arrived with plenty of time to spare. Got to see her practice a little. As she and I walked out she shared that Kelly, her instructor, told her that she really needs to attend more meets. Yeah, she’s only attended one so far this season, but we made it very clear upfront that Bella likely wouldn’t do meets in January or February due to our family commitment to snow skiing together in the winter. On the other hand, both the November and December meets were cancelled. Moreover, the remaining events for this year are all out of state, which both Mindy and I find repulsive. Heck, they’re bad enough when they’re local.

Bella was in tears for at least the initial leg of our drive home, all because of the gym meet thing. I suggested we stop at Lowes, which she absolutely loves. I needed to pick-up some microwave oven appliance bulbs for over the stove. She wasn’t too thrilled about at first but quickly warmed to the idea. I knew once she got inside she’d be good to go. After all, Bella loves Lowes! I wasn’t disappointed. While I sought out the correct specialty bulbs, Bella went to the kitchen cabinets, counters, and appliance department to play. She loves to play there! After finding the bulbs I went to look for her. She was excited to show me what she found under one of the demo sinks – a paint tray and roller. 

She wanted to look at appliances, too. I humored her, taking a look at dish washers, stoves, refrigerators, etc. Headed for check out. Before leaving the store, I ran into a former work peep. We chatted for a minute or two. By the time we made our way back to the Accord, it was snowing.

Arrived home near 830pm. Bella and Mindy headed up to bed shortly after our arrival home. Sounded like Mindy and the kids were watching Thursday’s CBS comedy line-up from our room. Not really tired, I watched from downstairs, staying up all the way through 2.5 Men. I headed for bed just after 10pm. Mindy was already asleep.